Professional: Book 3 in Attractive Series
by Clare Spradley I
Summary: Riley Matthews is now a successful lawyer in Washington, D.C.. She tries to forget about her failed relationship with Lucas Friar but that's hard to do when she is the maid of honor and he is the best man in their best friends' wedding. Takes place in the year 2032. Rated T for now. Rucas.
1. Fourth of July

_July 4, 2032_

Riley Matthews would say she was definitely satisfied with her life. She worked at one of the most successful law firms in Washington, D.C. and that's about it. She doesn't have the friends people rave about anymore. She doubts she'll ever be a bridesmaid or maid of honor to anybody, despite what she and her middle school best friend had decided when they were fourteen. The only people she would be seen around today would be her work friends and any of their clients but their exchanges were usually very professional. She had almost entirely cut ties with her family. When she said she was going to intern in Washington, her parents were so proud of her. She promised to visit during Thanksgiving and Christmas but she hadn't been back to her hometown of New York in nearly four years. When she did go back, she would hardly ever leave the house. She was lucky to slip out the last time she had been there because… well, that might be a story for another time. Anyway, she had not been back since then. She had lied and said she had to work. It wasn't always a lie. Crime didn't stop for Thanksgiving or Christmas. But more often than not, Riley had those holidays off. So she didn't really have family or friends but she did have a successful career and that was more than most had so she was satisfied with her life.

"Hey, Riley." Riley heard a male voice from above her desk.

"Oh, hi Jake." Riley answered to the agent as he dropped a file on her desk.

"Here's a file on our latest recruit." Jake replied.

"Thank you, I'll look at is as soon as I get the chance." Riley replied with a professional smile.

"Great," Jake replied. He turned around to walk out of her work area when he swiftly turned around and reproached her desk.

"So, tonight's the big Fourth of July celebration." Jake stated. "Do you maybe want to go see-"

"No, Jake." Riley answered as she started to skim the file.

"All right." Jake answered with a polite nod. "I'll see you around."

Jake Fuller was an FBI agent who was assigned to bring background information of new clients to the firm Riley worked at. He had started around the same time Riley had and he always brought her the files, even before she started representing the agents in court. That alone made Riley realize that he liked her. He asked her out to the Christmas party the firm hosted every year but she said she was going back to visit her parents, which wasn't a lie. He had asked her out for every special occasion and it now became a regular thing anytime he would come drop off a file. He'd ask her out, she'd say no and they would carry on with their day. Riley had hoped he would have stopped chasing her by now. It had been almost six years. She hadn't had a guy that patient since Lucas.

Lucas. She would never admit this but there wouldn't be a day that would go by that she didn't think about him. There wouldn't be a day she wouldn't think about their- what might have been. If she had accepted one of the internships in New York, they would probably be married by now. They might have kids if she didn't screw it up again. When she wrote the message on the back of that photo, she truly meant it. She still loved him more than she had ever loved anybody, with the exception of maybe her family and Maya. If she had known that she wanted to be married to him for sure, she would have dropped everything and returned to New York to be with him, beg him to take her back and apologize for being so cruel to him. But in six years, she hadn't decided if the decision she made was the right one or not. Sometimes it felt like it was but other times it felt very wrong. Around the two year mark, she thought about getting back together with him but then the story for another time happened and she decided to stay here. It kept her grounded in Washington, D.C. for four years now and she was just now starting to teeter back and forth with her decision to stay in Washington to move back to New York. She had to remind herself that if she moved back to New York she would practically have to restart her career. There was no law firm like this one in New York.

"Ms. Matthews?" She heard from her desk. It wasn't until her personal intern, Ashley, spoke that Riley had been staring blankly at the document in front of her, tearing up while thinking about Lucas. That had happened a few times now. She needed to stop doing that.

"Yes, Ashley?" Riley responded after clearing her throat.

"A new client is here to see you." Ashley said.

"Oh, right I have a 11:45 appointment." Riley reminded herself. "Send them in."

Ashley went behind the corner that separated Riley's work space from the front of the firm to get her new client. Riley had read a bit about this client. She was an artist from New York who wanted to claim copyright infringement on some of her work. She had spoken to lawyers in New York about it but she said in her file that her father was an FBI agent and had worked with this firm before so she felt comfortable with this firm. What Riley found a bit odd was that this person had specifically requested her to work on this case. Why would the daughter of a former agent want to work with her? She would have thought this woman would request an older member of the firm.

"Hey, Riles."

Riley almost dropped the mug full of scolding hot coffee on herself when she heard the voice above her because she knew exactly who it belonged to. She looked up, hoping with every ounce in her being that it was just somebody who sounded like the familiar person, but alas it was not.

In front of her stood Maya Hart. She had certainly changed since high school and college. Her hair was a bit shorter but still much longer than Riley's had ever been. She had bangs that flicked with her eyelashes when she blinked. She was wearing a pretty floral shirt and a pair of coral skinny jeans that she had rolled up to her mid-calf and a pair of tan sandals. She looked really good.

"You're- you're art's under copyright infringement?" Riley asked, still trying to get over the shock of seeing Maya again.

"No," Maya responded with a chuckle. She duped her! "Do you want to go get lunch?"

"I don't know." Riley answered, cooly. "I have a lot of work to do, I was planning on working through lunch."

"Really?" Maya asked. "On the Fourth of July? I'm surprised you are even allowed to work on Fourth of July."

"Lots of people have to work on the Fourth of July." Riley shot back.

"I know." Maya said. "But the fireworks are going to be going off around here, aren't they?"

"Ms. Matthews?" Ashley asked, walking into the conversation. "Sorry to interrupt but we are closing after noon because of the fireworks aren't we? A client wants to know."

Riley sighed as she noticed a devilish smile on Maya's face. She couldn't lie and say they were open for appointments for a client unless she wanted to risk losing them.

"Yes, we are." Riley sighed. Ashley replied with a 'thanks' and left.

Riley looked to Maya and saw that same devilish grin on her face.

"I still need to work through lunch though." Riley said.

"You know, you have gotten better at lying since school but you're still not good enough for me to believe you." Maya replied.

Riley groaned from behind her desk.

"Fine." Riley replied as she grabbed her purse. "But please make it quick. I really do want to see the fireworks tonight."

The two girls went to a classy bistro near by. Once they had ordered their food and worked past the now awkward tension Riley never imagined having with Maya, they asked the typical questions two friends who hadn't seen each other in a while would ask. Riley told Maya about her work and the firm. Maya told Riley she had left John Quincy Adams a few years back and traveled the world, showing off her art and learning from the best. She had now grounded once again in Los Angles.

"Funny, I never saw you as a West Coast kind of girl." Riley said.

"What can I say, it suits me." Maya replied with a chuckle. "So how's your family?"

"I think they are pretty good." Riley said.

"You think?" Maya asked. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Well I haven't really seen them in a few years." Riley said while bringing her drink up to her face, hoping that would muffle what she was saying.

"Why not?" Maya asked with a smile on her face, as if she found this amusing.

"Work really has been busy." Riley said. "Crime doesn't stop for the holidays."

"I suppose not." Maya said. "I just would have thought they would give you time off."

"I mean, technically speaking, yes, I had time off." Riley admitted. "But I want to be made a full partner one day. I can't be taking days off for holidays."

Maya chuckled quietly to herself.

"What?" Riley asked, perhaps a bit too defensively.

"Are you seeing anyone?" Maya asked.

"No."

"Do you have any social life at all."

"Maya!"

"Well," Maya asked as she took a bite of her food. "Do you?"

"I'm more work oriented at the moment." Riley chose to say.

"You've changed, Riles." Maya said.

"Good." Riley replied. "I needed to. The old, sunshine-y Riley would have been swallowed up in the real world."

"You think so?" Maya asked.

"Yes." Riley said. "The world isn't always positive."

"Well, you thought you could change it so it would be, remember?"

"Why did you want to have lunch with me?" Riley asked, doing her best to ignore Maya's previous statement.

"Oh… um… I was just in town and I thought I would have lunch with my friend. Catch up a bit." Maya said.

"Maya, I'm basically a human lie detector now." Riley said. "What's the real reason you came out here?"

Maya was still quiet. Luckily, Riley still remembered a sure fire why to get Maya to tell the truth.

"Ring power." Riley said, although she had gotten rid of their friendship ring a long time ago.

Maya smiled up at her once best friend, happy that after all this time, she still remembered their agreement.

"Well, speaking of rings…" Maya lifted her left hand up to starch her nose and that was when Riley saw a diamond ring on her hand.

"You're engaged?!" Riley exclaimed. "Oh, my gosh. Congratulations!"

"Thank you." Maya said. "And like I have said before, you don't have to call me Aunt Maya."

"You're getting married to Josh?!" Riley asked in a surprised tone. She supposed it wasn't the most shocking thing ever but Maya and Josh had split up shortly after she and Lucas did. She never knew the reasons but she couldn't be happier for the pair.

"That's great, Maya." Riley said. "I couldn't be happier for you."

"Thanks again." Maya chuckled. "But that's not all I came here to tell you."

"Oh?" Riley asked.

"I was wondering if you would be my maid of honor." Maya said.

"Oh." Riley replied as she slumped back in her chair.

"So?" Maya asked after about a minute of silence. "What do you say?"

"I don't know." Riley replied. "You don't have any better friends than me?"

"No, not really." Maya said. "There are a few colleagues that I worked with at John Quincy Adams and a few friends from college but you're the best friend I've ever had Riley and I want you to be standing next to me went I get married to the man of my dreams. Besides, didn't we agree that we were going to be each other's maids of honor when we got married?"

"That was like twenty years ago or something." Riley said.

"Please don't make me feel old." Maya joked.

Riley was inches from saying yes when she realized something else.

"Who's-who's going to be the best man?" She asked.

"Do I really have to tell you that?" Maya asked back.

"Then, no Maya." Riley said. "I'm sorry I just can't."

"He's changed a lot since the last time you saw him." Maya reassured. "He's happier now."

"Good for him." Riley said as she stood up to go pay for her food and leave.

Maya grabbed the strap of Riley's purse to stop her from leaving.

"Look, Riles," she started. "I know Lucas is your ex and it must have been tough to break up after six years together. In fact, I know it's tough but would seeing him again really be that bad? I promise he is different. He's changed."

Riley was on the verge of tears when Maya continued talking about Lucas. She felt bad but she never wanted to see him again. Even before his weird and disturbing behavior the last time she saw him, she didn't want to see him again. She felt awful because it was nothing he did. It was just every time she looked at him she remembered she failed him. She would have felt okay if he hadn't have admitted that he wanted to be a father after they lost their baby during their break up. Even then, she wanted to be a mother. She imagined having a son that looked just like Lucas and every time she looked at him, she was reminded of what could have been. It was just too painful and she couldn't explain it to Maya because as far as Riley knew, nobody but her and Lucas ever knew about the baby.

"I just can't do it Maya." Riley said.

Maya sighed before pulling out to her last resort.

"Ring power?"

Riley instantly felt guilty because Maya made her right hand into a fist to show their middle school friendship ring still resting on her pinky finger. She supposed she owed Maya one and could put up with Lucas for a day. Besides the bride and the groom, they were going to be the most important people at the wedding so they would probably be to busy to even interact with each other right?

"Fine." Riley sighed.

* * *

Lucas saw Josh reenter the main room of his apartment. He had just received a phone call from Maya and had to excuse himself from the football game they were watching. Giants vs. 49ers. It was a split between the two coasts and the two men had always cheered for opposing teams just to keep things interesting. Josh decided to cheer for the Giants tonight since he had identified the New York area as one of his homes. Lucas cheered for the 49ers because Austin was closer to San Francisco than New York, although both were still a stretch. This wasn't nearly as intense as the Eagles vs. Cowboys games proved to be. Josh had to leave the game when he got a phone call from Maya. Lucas was told Maya was out on business again.

"How's Maya?" Lucas asked when Josh came back.

"She's good." Josh said as he grabbed the remote on the couch and paused the game.

"Hey, what gives?" Lucas exclaimed. "San Francisco has it 3rd and goal with one minute left in the fourth quarter!"

"I need to tell you something I think you will really want to hear." Josh said in the most serious voice he could muster. It seemed to work because Lucas sat down on the couch.

"Yeah, man what's up?" Lucas said.

"Maya's not on a business trip." Josh said.

"Where is she?" Lucas asked.

"Well, she's not in L.A. either." Josh responded. "She had to leave for a… personal trip."

"Where is she?" Lucas repeated.

"She's…" Josh said. He really didn't know how Lucas was going to take this because he was probably going to catch on to what he was going to say as soon as he revealed where Maya was.

"She's in Washington, D.C." Josh confessed.

Lucas dropped his chip he had just dipped in salsa on the floor. He knew exactly what she was up to, he just needed confirmation.

"What-what was she doing there?" Lucas asked.

"She asked Riley to be her maid of honor." Josh said. "And Riley said yes."

Riley was coming back? Riley was coming back! This was it! This was his chance! If she would take him back, that is. He didn't blame her if she won't. He acted like a complete asshole the last time he saw her. Plus, he was the father to her never born child. He didn't know how she would react. It was possible she didn't even know he was going to be the best man. Hell, it was possible she didn't know Maya was marrying her own uncle. For all she knew, Maya could be marrying the modern day Van Gogh and Picasso is the best man. He decided he couldn't get too excited about this but one thing was for sure, he was shocked about seeing the girl he loved again.

Fireworks started exploding in the sky and the loud noise started a previously occupied Lucas.

"Happy Fourth of July." Josh said.

* * *

 **AN: So there is the first chapter of Professional. I'm not really sure how I feel about the title but I have to say this feels like some of my best work if I do say so myself. Feel free to argue.**

 **So I had this whole plan for the Attractive Series to be three books long with a oneshot between books 2 and 3 but now I *think* I'm going to write a fairly short book 3 then a oneshot and book 4. The way I ended Smile was not what I had in mind but I liked it because it added a whole new book to this series.**

 **If you are new to this series, please check out my other books, Attractive: Book 1 in Attractive Series and Smile: Book 2 in Attractive Series.**

 **I have the best readers ever! Thank you guys so much for your continued support and love! I send it right back to you!**

 **Follow, favorite and review!**


	2. The Gala

**AN: This is the same chapter 2 so if you have already read this, you can ignore this update. I'm sorry but for some reason the story didn't move to the top of the recently updated list so I thought I'd try republishing this. I'm sorry if I got your hopes up. Chapter 3 will be up tomorrow, I promise!**

* * *

Riley couldn't stop thinking about Maya's wedding. It had been nearly a month since she had agreed to be her maid of honor and it wasn't a decision she was very firm on. Well, she hadn't made a decision about her personal life that she felt positive about since she decided to give her virginity to Lucas. What a mess that had put them in. Still, there were several times Riley thought about calling Maya and telling her she was going to have to work the day of her wedding so she could get out of these maid of honor duties. But she also felt like Maya could see straight through her lie even on the phone and it would have been pointless. Riley was also heavily considering rebuilding her friendship with Maya. She hadn't realized how much she had missed her once best friend until they saw each other last month. Lying to her was not a good way to start a friendship. Maya was never particularly bothered by Riley lying to her, although she didn't like it. Riley made sure everybody knew she was mad at them when she was lied to. It wasn't fair to lie to her, especially when something as important as a wedding was involved.

Tonight was a rarity for Riley. Usually, she would be dressed in yoga pants or sweats with a hot cup of tea, coffee or hot chocolate going over a case file before going to bed. Tonight, however, she stood in front of her mirror in her long, elegant dress. It had a long sleeved, ivory top with floral designed beading. The skirt of the dress was a simple black silk- like fabric that flowed down to her ankles. She wore a pair of strappy, black heeled sandals and managed to carry all of her necessary possessions in a small and simple, but classy, black wallet with a crystal design on the clasp. Her hair had curls toward the bottom and was shifted so all of her chocolate locks lay on her left shoulder. She had minimal makeup on with a bright red lip. She sighed in the mirror thinking about how excited and stunned her old self would have been. She hadn't thought about how she used to act in a while. In comparison to her old self, she was numb now. She had enough energy and feeling to pass as a normal, well-functioning human but she was nothing like the way she used to be. Since her lunch date with Maya, she wondered if that was really a good thing.

With a sigh, Riley stepped away from the mirror to walk out of her apartment, hail a taxi and ride it to the White House. Yes, the actual White House.

Tonight was the president's annual Workers of Washington Gala. This gala honored the companies that worked in direct contact with the president, vice president or members of the house or the senate. Riley didn't technically work in direct contact with any of these parties but their law firm had helped a senator out of a tricky situation a few years back so the entire firm had been invited ever since. It was one of Riley's favorite events of the year since it allowed her to get out of her house and dress up a little bit but it was for work. Maya was right; Riley didn't have a personal life and all and she liked it that way thank you very much. But that didn't mean she liked spending every single night curled up on her couch reading the latest mess a FBI or CIA agent had gotten themselves into.

Riley followed the line of guests into the large home and handed her invitation to the secret service officer standing at the entrance to the party. He motioned for her to go inside and she did as she was told. Riley walked aimlessly around the big house like she did every time, waiting for someone from work to rescue her from drowning in this social pool.

"Hey, Riley!"

God, why did it have to always be Jake.

"Hi, Jake." Riley replied as she looked at the man in front of her. He was dressed in a classy tuxedo and looked very sharp. If she hadn't known the way he felt about her and she didn't mind having a personal life, she might not have a problem talking to him for a while.

"Wow," he said taking her appearance in. "You look great!"

"Thanks." Riley replied with little enthusiasm. "You do too."

"Oh, thanks," he replied clicking the heels of his shinny black shoes. "It's just a rental though."

Riley just gave him a nod before taking another sip of the champagne she picked up near the entrance.

"So, do you have a date tonight?" Jake asked.

"What do you think?" Riley replied. Did he really need to ask that question?

"Do you want to have a date tonight?" He asked with boyish hope shinning in his eyes.

"What do you think?" Riley repeated.

"Riley!" She heard a voice from behind her, recognizing who it was immediately and thanking her lucky stars for her boss's timing.

"Mr. Clarkson!" Riley turned around to the older man and to shake his hand, only realizing he had been going in for a hug. She never read those social cues to well anymore. Nevertheless, he shook her hand.

"And how are you on this fine evening, Ms. Matthews?" Mr. Clarkson asked.

"Well, I'm out of my home with some champagne in my hand so I can't complain." Riley joked. She may be numb, but she still knew how to through around a joke. It was probably the main reason her co-workers didn't completely hate her.

"Well, come this way." Mr. Clarkson said after he had finished laughing. "There are some people I would love for you to meet."

Riley followed Mr. Clarkson throughout the chambers of the big home. Mr. Clarkson had lived a very interesting and exciting life. He was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia only to leave and join the military when he graduated high school. After a short time in the military he became a police officer in Nashville. Once he had severed there for ten years, he moved to Washington to become and FBI agent. His late wife was an agent too and they both had frequented this gala more than just about anybody else. Even when he decided to go to law school at the age of fifty, he always came to these parties as her date. There wasn't a soul here he didn't know. Riley had found that out last year when he saw her sitting on a bench by herself. He practically hoisted her to her feet and started introducing her as his 'best young worker' to all his friends and colleagues. It had turned into one of the best nights of her life because of the kind actions of her boss. She had told him so the next day and he promised to do it again next year. Apparently Mr. Clarkson was very good at keeping his word.

Over the course of the night Riley met the president's tailor, dentist and owner of his favorite bakery. They were all very friendly and hard working people. Mr. Clarkson kept his tradition going, introducing Riley as his best young worker, which had impressed a few of the people she met tonight. Once they had finished their conversation with the baker, Riley wondered who she was going to meet next. Mr. Clarkson was far from a lawyer who only spoke to those equal to his statue or higher. Riley was sure he would have an hour long conversation with the man who has to unplug the president's toilet if he were here.

Mr. Clarkson started scanning the large crowd of people, looking for his and Riley's next conversation when he seemed to have spotted someone.

"Oh, Riley," He said turning back around to her. "You love animals right?"

"Of course I do," Riley replied. "Who doesn't?"

"Then how would you like to meet the president's veterinarian, Dr. Downs?" Mr. Clarkson asked.

"Sure, sounds great!" Riley said.

Mr. Clarkson lead her over what must have been the hundredth man in a tuxedo she saw tonight. Dr. Downs looked to be a fit man in his late thirties or early forties. He immediately gave off this vibe that he was a family man from the seconds Riley laid eyes on him. Not that she was attracted to him, but she could see why he would have to give this idea off. He looked like the type of guy most women close to his age would go after.

"Ted!" Mr. Clarkson exclaimed as he came closer to the veterinarian.

"John!" Ted Downs exclaimed right back as they embraced in a manly kind of hug.

"It's good to see you, son." Mr. Clarkson told him.

"Likewise." Dr. Downs replied. "How are things at the firm?"

"As good as ever." Mr. Clarkson said. "Speaking of which, I would like you to meet Riley Matthews, a lawyer at the firm. She is our best young worker."

"Hi." Riley said as she extended her hand.

"Good to meet you Riley," Dr. Downs said as he shook her hand back. "That's high praise coming from this man."

"Oh, believe me, I know." Riley said.

"So how are things at the clinic?" Mr. Clarkson asked. "And I trust the family is doing well?"

"Oh, the family's great!" Dr. Downs replied. Yep, he was a family man. "Carrie is doing great and enjoying staying home with the kids. Elliot is going to start third grade this upcoming year and Brandon will be in second grade. The kid has a great tight spiral on the football. Makes his father proud. And Drew is starting kindergarten this year."

"Little Drew?" Mr. Clarkson interrupted. "You mean the little one you brought to this gala a few years back?"

"That's the one." Dr. Downs replied.

"My, time really does fly." Mr. Clarkson said. "Riley, Dr. Downs here and his wife first came to this gala, what, five years ago?" He continued when he got a nod from Dr. Downs. "They had their newborn son, Drew here with them and I volunteered to hold him for them so they could socialize with the new people and the little tyke threw up on my jacket."

"Yes, it was quite embarrassing." Dr. Downs added.

"No, it was fine." Mr. Clarkson responded. "I love kids!"

There was another difference between Riley and Mr. Clarkson. She would never have volunteered to hold somebody's baby for them and if by some miracle she had, she would have been absolutely mortified if the baby had spit up on her. Auggie did that to her when she was holding him once and she cried for two hours straight.

"How's the clinic now?" Mr. Clarkson asked after the two men got over their fit of laughs at the memory of a mushy baby and puke.

"The clinic is going great!" Dr. Downs exclaimed. "Do you by chance remember Derek Hudson?"

"Yes, of course!" Mr. Clarkson said. "You're second hand man!"

"Yes, well he got an opportunity to open his own clinic in Pittsburgh." Dr. Downs said. "I couldn't protest, that's where he was from."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Mr. Clarkson replied.

 _Why would somebody leave the clinic that severed the president to go to Pittsburgh?_ Riley thought. She had been to Pittsburgh before and it was nothing all that special. At least not as special as Washington.

"Oh, no it's all good news." Dr. Downs said. "I hired a new assistant a few months ago. He's around here somewhere."

Dr. Downs began scanning the large room searching for his new assistant veterinarian until his eyes widened and it seemed he had found who he was looking for.

"Ah, I found him." Dr. Downs said, confirming what Riley had observed. "Lucas!" The doctor shouted and waved.

Mr. Clarkson looked over in the direction that Dr. Downs was looking in while Riley completely lost feeling in her legs. No… this couldn't be… Well, it turned out wearing heels tonight was a bad idea because she felt her left leg give up, her foot slid to the side and she hit the ground, hard, just a Lucas Friar walked over to her.

"Riley!" Mr. Clarkson, exclaimed. "Are you all right?"

Riley simply nodded, somehow not knowing how to find her voice. Why did he have to be here? Why now? He had just humiliated her in front of her boss. Now she was going to be introduced as the best young and clumsy worker.

Mr. Clarkson had bent down to help her up but Riley could see he was clearly struggling. He was almost seventy years old after all.

"Here, let me." Riley heard the all too familiar voice from above and then felt his warm, large hands wrap around her waist. It wasn't exactly like it used to be. Yes, he put his hands on her waist very, very often but it wasn't this forceful, unless they were… no, no it was never this forceful.

Riley sent a small nod in Lucas' direction as if to say thank you. She still hadn't found her voice. Why couldn't she talk?

"Riley, what happened?" Mr. Clarkson asked.

"Oh, just…" Riley replied very quietly. She was sure neither Lucas nor Dr. Downs could hear her. "One of my heels broke."

"Oh, those pesky heels!" Mr. Clarkson exclaimed. "Yes, my wives used to break all the time."

Mr. Clarkson and Dr. Downs laughed again but Lucas and Riley were silent.

"Anyway," Dr. Downs finally said. "This is my new assistant veterinarian, Lucas Friar."

"How do you do, Dr. Friar?" Mr. Clarkson said as he reached out to shake hands with him. Riley almost burst into giggles at somebody calling the guy who she had to explain the system of avenues and streets to doctor.

"Oh, please call me Lucas." Lucas had responded.

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you Lucas." Mr. Clarkson said. "This is my best young worker, Riley Matthews."

"Hi," Lucas chose to say, not sticking his hand out to shake hers or offering a hug or anything.

"Hi," Riley mumbled again. She wished she could find the voice to tell him to leave because she was embarrassed enough.

"Wait, do you two know each other?" the all too observant Mr. Clarkson asked.

"Yeah." Lucas responded a bit to enthusiastically. "We um…" he trailed off, realizing his moment for excitement might have been a little too soon.

"We were friends in college." Riley said, quickly. "We went to Cornell together."

"We haven't seen each other since." She added solemnly, finally looking Lucas in the eye.

"Well, we can give you time to catch up if you would like." Dr. Downs suggested.

Before Riley could suggest something else, Lucas answered with a once again, all too resounding 'yes'.

Riley looked to Mr. Clarkson, hoping the old man would take her to see the president's best maid or something but he simply nodded for her to stay with Lucas as he and Dr. Downs made their exit. Riley took a deep breath before turning to face Lucas.

"Listen, we don't have to talk if you don't want to-" Lucas started.

"No, it's fine." Riley said. "Besides, we should probably do this now instead of the wedding."

"I didn't know you knew about that." Lucas said.

"Of course, I did." Riley said. "Maya came and asked me to be her maid of honor about a month ago."

"No, I mean that I was going to be best man." Lucas said.

"Oh, no of course I knew that." Riley said.

There was an awkward moment of silence between the two before Riley spoke up again.

"So do you want to talk or…"

"Yeah," Lucas responded. "It's just… can we go somewhere a little less crowded?"

"Sure." Riley said.

She lead him to the small patio outside that had been opened to guests. Most of the guests were clearing out because it was starting to get a little cold outside but it was still nothing compared to the New York winters they both knew.

"So," Lucas started once they sat down on the cold, metal furniture. "Have you been in Washington since the internship?"

"Yes," Riley replied. "Yeah, after my internship was over, Mr. Clarkson offered me a position with the firm. It wasn't anything big but now I have been promoted. I'm not a partner yet, obviously but I have a lot of the powers full partners do have."

"That's great, Riley." Lucas said. "I'm glad you're happy."

"So, what about you?" Riley asked, ignoring his question. "What have you been up to since Cornell?"

"Well, I ended up going to a great school in California to get my doctorate." Lucas said. "I worked at a clinic there for two years before I applied for the job to come out here. I have to tell you I was a bit shocked when Dr. Downs offered me the position."

"Good for you, Lucas." Riley said. "I had no idea you went to California."

"Yeah, I told you at Christmas." Lucas said.

"Ah," Riley said. "I'm honestly surprised you remember anything from that night."

"How's your family?" Lucas asked, maybe a bit too forcefully.

"They're good." Riley said. "Mom and dad are still as happy as ever. I think they are planning on retiring soon. Last I heard, Auggie and Ava are engaged. They have been for the past three years but they keep putting it off. I'm not really sure why."

"Well, I'm sure they will figure it out soon." Lucas said with a chuckle. "They've always been a bit strange."

"Yeah." Riley laughed back. They were silent again for a while before Riley interrupted the silence once again.

"You've changed since the last time I saw you."

Lucas sighed knowing exactly what she was talking about.

"I know." Lucas said. "Well, I hope I have. I've tried really hard to not be that person anymore. I was just… It was so recent and I needed to cope and I thought it would be a good idea. It worked while I was alone but I never should have brought it around you and your family."

Riley smiled admiringly at him. He had changed a lot since the last time she had seen him, nearly four years ago. She was worried about him but she didn't want to be there when the storm came down to crush him. That was the only good reason she had for not returning to the city. She didn't want to see a person she loved so much and a person as brilliant as him go down the spiral.

"I'm glad, you're okay." Riley said.

"I'm still so sorry about it." Lucas said.

"So have you found a place here yet?" Riley asked.

"Yeah," Lucas said. "It's a bit off the beaten path but it's nice."

"Well I still have a few of your things from Cornell." Riley said. "I was planning on giving them back to you at the wedding but-"

"Oh, no Riley, it's fine." Lucas said. "You can keep them."

"Oh," Riley answered. "Okay."

"But you are welcome to come over anytime." Lucas said.

"Thanks." Riley said. She didn't really want to spend a lot of time with him but she wanted to talk to him more for Maya's sake. She deserved a wedding where the best man and maid of honor could talk to each other.

"Do-do you need help moving in?" Riley asked.

"Why?" Lucas asked, jokingly. "Do you know anybody?"

"Lucas!" Riley exclaimed. "I'm serious."

The both laughed for a little bit and it almost felt familiar.

"Yes." Lucas said. "Yeah, that would be great. Do you have plans for tomorrow?"

"Well, I have to work." Riley replied.

"Tomorrow's Saturday." Lucas said.

"Oh," Riley said in realization. "You're right. Then no, I guess not."

"Great." Lucas said. "Why don't you come over around noon if that's all right. I can order out."

"Okay, that sounds good." Riley said. "Just text me the details."

"I don't think I have your number anymore." Lucas said.

"Oh, right." Riley replied. "I'm just losing my mind tonight."

"No, you're fine." Lucas said. "And if it makes you feel any better about the fall, I almost shit myself when I saw you tonight."

"Don't be so crude!" Riley said with a giggle and playfully, slapped his shoulder. "But as a matter of fact that does make me feel better."

"Good." Lucas replied. Soon they had exchanged numbers and noticed the president was walking up to the podium to make his speech and present the dinner for the night.

"We should probably get going." Riley said.

"Yeah, you're right." Lucas replied.

They stood up to leave, Lucas in front of Riley, when suddenly he turned around to face her.

"It's good to have you back, Riles." Lucas said.

Riley swallowed a large lump in her throat before answering him.

"It's good to be back."

And that wasn't a lie.

* * *

 **AN: So this morning I woke up around eight thirty and checked my email to find I had 60 emails from FanFiction all about this story! I am so thankful to all of you and completely blown away.**

 **I hoped you enjoyed our Riley and Lucas reunion. Probably not what you were expecting but it wasn't really what they were expecting either, I'm sure.**

 **Next chapter is titled Story for Another Time. I know some of you guys were asking for it in the reviews and I don't really think I can hold it back much longer. Based on the evidence of this chapter and the previous one though, I'm not sure you guys will be too shocked with it.**

 **Thanks for the love! I send it right back! *hugs and kisses***

 **Follow, favorite and review!**


	3. A Story for Another Time

_December 24, 2028_

Riley had just arrived in her hometown of New York City. She loved Washington but it wasn't home. She missed being here but she was absolutely, positively, one-hundred percent satisfied in Washington. But she hadn't been happy since New York.

Riley blocked that last thought out of her mind as she reminded herself that she hadn't been sad since she had lived in New York. She blocked that thought out too not wanting to think about the root of her sadness. No, she was satisfied with her life in Washington and she was going to stay there. But she couldn't deny she loved being back in New York City.

Riley walked out of the airport to see a man with her brown hair, only much, much curlier staring around the airport parking lot with his hand just above his eyebrows blocking out the sun. She smiled at her idiot father and dashed out into the parking lot to meet him.

"Dad!" Riley exclaimed, letting him know where she was.

"Riley!" Cory Matthews exclaimed back as he caught his little girl, who was not so little anymore, in his arms as she flung herself to him. "Are you ready?" He asked once he had set her down. Riley replied with a nod and shoved her bags in the back of the family minivan.

"So how's Washington?" Cory asked once they were on the road.

"It's going well." Riley answered. "The firm is still taking on all the cases we can and-"

"No, I don't mean work, Riley." Cory said. "I mean how about your friends? Or your time outside of work? Your social life?"

"Oh," Riley said. "Well, I don't really get out much."

"In Washington, D.C.?" Cory asked in surprise. "Aren't there plenty of things to do there?"

"I already took all the tours while I was interning, dad." Riley replied.

"I know, I mean I'm sure you've seen every inch of the area but don't you ever hang out with your friends or co-workers?" Cory asked.

Riley was silent until she heard music barely coming in from the radio.

"Oh, I love this song!" Riley exclaimed as she turned the music all the way up.

"Riley!" Cory repeated over and over over the loud music and Riley sing-screaming the lyrics to the song.

"Riley, Maya's coming tonight!" Cory shouted. That was enough for her to turn down the music.

"What?" Riley asked softly.

"Shawn and Katy wanted to know if they could come for Christmas dinner and your mother and I said yes." Cory stated. "I would assume they are bringing Maya along."

"Well," Riley started trying to think of an excuse. "What about Josh? They haven't talked at all since they've broken up."

"Josh is spending Christmas in Philadelphia, as are your grandma and grandpa by the way." Cory answered. "There was a snow storm in the area and they are snowed in for the holidays."

"Okay, fine." Riley grumbled as she slumped against her chair like a child throwing a tantrum.

"Whatever happened between you two anyway?" Cory asked. "You guys used to be inseparable."

"Why don't you ask her?" Riley asked. "You work with her, don't you?"

"I did ask her and she said you left for Washington and never came back." Cory said. "She said she had no idea what had happened."

"I just…" Riley started. Now was not going to be a good time to tell her father about the baby. No time was going to be a good time to tell anybody about the baby. "I just needed to move on."

"Move on from what?" Cory asked. "I thought you were happy here."

"I was!" Riley exclaimed. "I'm sorry," she said in a much calmer voice. "I just don't want to talk about it right now."

"Okay," Cory replied, sincerely. "Fine."

The rest of the car ride to Greenwich Village was silent between the father- daughter pair. This was the one thing Riley didn't like about being home. Every time she came back, she was interrogated by her parents or her brother over what happened between her and Maya or her and Farkle or worst of all, her and Lucas. It was a painful past she didn't want to relive. There was a reason as to why she left.

* * *

Lucas Friar woke up to a loud banging noise in his New York hotel room. His head throbbed in extreme pain as he regretted that last drink from the night before. He looked up with tired eyes to see his once geeky best buddy clanging a metal pot against the desk in their hotel room.

"Jesus Christ, Farkle!" Lucas exclaimed. "What the hell are you doing that for?"

"It's two o'clock in the afternoon!" Farkle exclaimed. "We need to go soon if we are going to be there by dinner time."

"Dinner is around seven, usually, isn't it?" Lucas asked. "Wake me up in a few hours."

"No, Lucas we have an early dinner at five!" Farkle exclaimed. "It's Christmas Eve! Get your drunk ass out of bed."

Lucas dramatically flung his long, muscular legs out of bed, making a grunt with every movement.

"I'm not drunk." Lucas said, only to be interrupted by a belch. "Anymore."

"Good." Farkle said. "Then make yourself look well… not hungover and get ready to leave!"

"Fine, fine." Lucas muttered as he walked over to the mini bathroom the two boys had in their hotel room. "Piece of cake."

This was far from Lucas' first rodeo with alcohol and drunken nights. Riley had left him to cope with the death of his child alone. He had gone back to Texas one night and was being far to mopey for his Texas best friend, Zay Babineaux, to handle so he took him to a bar. Lucas had been drunk before but it had never been this pleasing. Sure, the throbbing headache and vomit in the morning wasn't very fun but the ability for him to let go of every fear, every worry, every ounce of sadness he was bottling up and that's all he wanted to do. He almost always found an excuse to drink and had gotten good at sobering up fast if he had to go to work or school or anywhere he couldn't be drunk. Tonight, he was going to Christmas Eve dinner with the Minkus' so he had to look presentable for that. He would also have to watch himself if they busted out the wine or spiked egg nog because he had issues having just one glass. Maybe he could have one or two glasses at the Minkus' and then go out with Farkle to have a few more. Yep, that sounded like a plan.

One cold shower and two cups of coffee later, Lucas was ready to go. Farkle looked happily surprised to see him sober up so quickly.

"I clean up well, huh?" Lucas said, sarcastically.

"Yeah, you're gorgeous." Farkle replied with a stoic stare. "I know you're not going to listen to me if I tell you to get help-"

"Nope." Lucas responded, almost involuntarily at this point.

"But," Farkle continued. "Can you please limit yourself to one or two or even crazier, no drinks tonight?"

"Yes, Farkle," Lucas said. "I will be on my best, sober behavior."

"Good." Farkle said as he double checked to make sure they had everything and then went downstairs and hailed a taxi cab.

"Where to, boys?" The driver asked.

Farkle was silent until Lucas closed his door. Farkle made sure to do his best to make sure Lucas wouldn't escape. He wasn't going to like it but this was the only way his friends could think to get him sober. If he kept drinking like this, he'd be dead in a year.

"Greenwich Village." Farkle said.

"You got it." The cab driver replied but neither of them heard.

To Farkle's surprise, Lucas didn't try to bust out of the cab or say anything. It was almost making him even more nervous as to what would happen when they did reach Greenwich Village.

"Stop the cab!" Lucas said suddenly. The cab driver obeyed and pulled the two men over where Lucas had requested. Farkle was beyond confused to why Lucas had stopped here. Did he just now realize where they were going? Had the alcohol affected him that much?

Just to make sure Lucas didn't do anything stupid, Farkle paid the cab driver and followed his friend outside. Immediately he realized why Lucas wanted to pull over here. Just a few doors down from where they had parked was a pub, open on Christmas Eve.

"Lucas, no!" Farkle had shouted but Lucas was already inside.

It seemed Lucas had worked fast because by the time Farkle was allowed to enter the bar, Lucas was already sitting on the stool taking a shot of whiskey.

"Lucas, you said-"

"You want me to see Riley, right?" Lucas asked. "Well, I'm not going to see her unless I'm wasted."

"Lucas, you don't know-"

"Farkle, do you think I drink because I like the taste?" Lucas asked as he took another shot. "What do you think happened that made me this way? Who do you think caused this?"

"You can't possibly blame this on Riley." Farkle had said, causing Lucas to laugh in a humorless way.

"Why does everybody think she's so goddamn innocent?" Lucas asked, his words starting to slur together. That was some strong whiskey. Well, that and he wasn't completely sober from the night before. He never allowed himself to truly be sober anymore. "I know for a fact she's not."

"Maybe not, but what did she do that was so bad it caused this?" Farkle asked, motioning to Lucas right now. This question seemed to stop Lucas in his tracks and Farkle bit the inside of his mouth in fear of what his best buddy was going to do next.

"You have no idea." Lucas said simply.

"Then tell me." Farkle pleaded.

"No," Lucas said. "She made me promise not to tell anyone."

"You still love her." Farkle told him, everything now making sense.

"Let's go." Lucas said as he removed himself from the barstool and left some cash on the bar for the bartender. He was stumbling only sightly but enough for Farkle to be terrified of what was going to happen next.

* * *

Riley was having a pretty good holiday as it turned out. She was worried Maya was going to be there but Shawn and Katy told her that Maya was out of town on a project. Riley thanked every god in the universe for that and was able to enjoy a lovely Christmas Eve with her family and extended family. That was until the speaker box buzzed.

"Who's there?" Auggie asked.

"Farkle." Riley heard on the other side.

"You guys invited Farkle?!" Riley asked her mom.

"No," Topanga said. "But he lives in the city again so he comes over with Maya sometimes."

Now, Riley was cursing the gods for bringing Farkle here. She couldn't throw him out, she would feel too bad. He didn't do anything wrong but he was a direct link to Lucas. But surely he wouldn't bring Lucas here. Riley knew Farkle had his fair share of bad breakups with girlfriends and she would never bring any of those people back into his life.

Auggie ran back to his room to play video games or something, Cory left to use the restroom and Topanga and Riley started working on cleaning the dishes when Topanga realized they didn't have any dish soap left in the bottle near the sink.

"There's probably some in the cabinet in the laundry room," Topanga said. "I'll be right back."

Riley nodded and, as if on cue, the doorbell rang once Topanga had left the room. Riley knew she couldn't wait until her mother came back and odds were Auggie nor Cory were going to be coming out of their secure places very soon. She had to answer the door. It couldn't be all that bad. It was only Farkle. If anything it would just be awkward.

Riley pulled open the door, shocked and mortified of who was behind it. Farkle was there of course but he was joined by none other than Lucas Friar who was leaning the right side of his body up against the door frame in a very odd action.

"Well, if it isn't the wind beneath my wings?" Lucas said in a very slurred speech as he let himself in, Farkle following after.

"I'm so sorry." Farkle mumbled to Riley as Lucas continued walking in his drunken state.

"So, Riley," Lucas said, wiping around in a very disoriented fashion. "How have you been?"

"Are you drunk?" Riley asked as she felt tears form in her eyes, doing everything she could to keep them back.

"You don't think I could see you if I wasn't drunk, do you?" Lucas asked. "It's his fault" he continued pointing to Farkle. "He's the one that dragged me over here."

"Okay," Riley said quietly. "I think maybe you two should leave. You guys weren't really invited so-"

"After we just got here?" Lucas asked. "Riley, I think that's pretty rude. Besides, I'm going back to California in a couple of days. We only have a few days to restore our love."

"I mean, that's what he wants." Lucas continued after a moment of silence and turning his attention to Farkle. "That's why he dragged me down here, isn't it? That's why you invited me to New York in the first place. You just have to meddle with everybody's life. You and Maya just make us your little puppet show. Well, guess what? I'm not going to be your puppet anymore, you little bastard."

"Don't talk to him like that!" Riley found herself defending Farkle before she knew what she was doing. She supposed her middle school self didn't die so easily.

"Oh, like you are in any position to defend him." Lucas said, turning back to Riley. "You broke my heart when you left, you know? Didn't even ask me what I thought you just left me behind to deal with our… problem. Well, I don't know about you but does it look like I'm coping with it very well?"

Suddenly, Riley felt the smallest amount of guilt. To cope with losing their baby and in turn, losing her, he had started drinking. She supposed this was an everyday kind of thing for him and it couldn't be good. She knew from the stories he told her about his family, his dad was an alcoholic so it would be easier for him to slip into that lifestyle as compared to someone like her who's family didn't have a drinking problem as far as she was aware.

"Well, then," Riley started before swallowing a lump in her throat. "I think you might need to get some help."

Lucas laughed humorlessly at her. It was the type of laugh that scared Riley because she knew what she had said was not funny.

"You just don't get it do you, Riles?" Lucas asked. "Neither do you!" He turned around to Farkle. "I like being like this. I can have a good time for once! I'm not thinking about you or our problem, which I haven't shared with anyone, by the way." Lucas was talking to Riley by the end of that sentence.

Riley was a bit surprised he had kept her promise. She wasn't an alcoholic but she had been drunk before and she had spit out a few secrets she had meant to keep to herself. She was surprised Lucas hadn't done that yet. She was surprised he hadn't felt any vengeance towards her and blurted it out to somebody. But she was also extremely grateful he hadn't told their secret to anybody.

"So," Lucas said as he plopped himself down on the couch. "Why don't you stop being stupid and come sit in my lap?"

Riley couldn't believe how crude and ugly the boy she once thought the kindest person she had ever met was being. Her cheeks felt wet and she didn't realize she was crying until it was too late. She tried to keep it down so her family couldn't see because for some unknown reason she didn't want to get Lucas in trouble with her family. Farkle was staring between Riley and Lucas, obviously having no idea what to do.

"Riley?" She heard a voice she knew belonged to her dad from behind. "What's going on? I heard yelling."

"Oh, hi, Mr. Matthews." Lucas answered. He seemed to be the only one completely unfazed by anything that was currently happening. "I was just telling your daughter she and I need to start things up again."

"Telling her or asking her?" Cory asked as he came to stand by Riley who was trying harder than ever to conceal her tears.

"He was telling her." Farkle said before Lucas could say anything. Riley was happy somebody other than Lucas was talking. "He's drunk and he's being very rude to her."

"I'm not drunk," Lucas defended. "I'm just buzzed enough to say the things I'm saying."

"Lucas, I think you better leave." Cory said, calmly.

"Not until your daughter plants a big, wet one right here." Lucas said as he stood up and pointed to his lips.

"Lucas, get out." Cory said getting a little bit more perturbed.

"Come on, man-" Farkle tried but apparently Lucas saw this as now or never.

"Of course I won't mind one right here, either." Lucas said as he moved his finger to point to his crotch. "Won't be the first time, huh, sweetheart?"

"Lucas, get out of my apartment and don't come back again!" Cory thundered in a voice Riley had never heard before. She was also frightened when her father grabbed Lucas by the back of his shirt, hoisted him up and threw him outside with Farkle in tow.

Riley figured her father might want to say something to her and tell her it was going to be okay or that Lucas would never get back into this apartment again but she didn't want to here it. Instead, she ran straight up to her room and locked herself inside. Luckily, she had her laptop with her and was able to trade her tickets she had to return to Washington on the twenty-eighth and changed it to early tomorrow morning. She needed to be out of New York. She needed to go back to work so she could distract herself again. The only thoughts that where currently floating through her mind were of Lucas and their baby and how different their lives would have been if she had been able to carry it to full term. This would be their third Christmas as a family and their baby would probably be around two years old. She imagined her and Lucas curled up in each other watching their toddler son play with the wrapping paper because out of the zillions of presents he got from all of their family and friends, the paper was the most thrilling. It would have been great. It would have been miles better than a drunk Lucas yelling profanities at her. Fantasy was always better than reality.

* * *

When Riley woke up early the next morning, she quickly packed her bags and wrote a note to her family explaining she had to return early for work, although she was almost positive they weren't going to buy it. Once she was sure she had everything, she noticed her window was wide open, letting in the cold New York air. She could have sworn she closed that the night before. It wasn't until then she noticed a small piece of paper laying on her bedside table. She picked it up to read it.

 _I'm sorry about yesterday. You didn't deserve that._

 _-L_

It made her feel better but she didn't want to see him anytime soon. He had hurt her more that she every thought he would and she needed more time. Not that she would have considered getting back together with him anyway. When he was sober, he was nice but she saw a life she couldn't have with him every time she looked at him. It hurt and she simply couldn't do it. But she meant what she wrote on the back of the photo. She would never stop loving him.

* * *

 **AN: Hey guys! I'm sorry I didn't update yesterday but I actually ended up having New Year's Eve plans. That was weird. But yeah on a side note, Happy New Year! I hope 2016 is good to you all!**

 **I'm sorry if this chapter was a little crude for some of you. If I ever write anything you guys think might be to mature for it's rating, please let me know and I will change it. I have no issues with writing an M rated fic at all.**

 **I don't know why some of the reviews aren't showing up. It may be because I updated too early last time and it won't show but I** **haven't had to delete any rude guest reviews for this story so I'm not sure what is happening. I swear there hasn't been one I have rejected yet so I apologize on behalf of fan fiction .net**

 **Also, school is going to be starting very soon for me and this semester is going to be insane so I'm not sure how often I will be able to update. I'll do my best but I'm sure most of you understand I have to do school work before any of this as much as I'd rather write more for this story.**

 **Anyway, next chapter will take us back to 2032 and may result in some issues for Riley and Lucas. It is important to remember that in the previous two stories I have mentioned Riley does not know about Lucas' somewhat abusive past... yet.**

 **Follow, favorite and review!**


	4. Conflicts

_August 14, 2032_

Riley stood outside of the apartment door Lucas had given her. She took a few deep breaths before knocking. She didn't know why but this felt extremely intimate. Maybe it was because the last time she spent a significant amount of time in an apartment alone with a guy, she was living with Lucas. It seemed like a full circle almost. The only difference was she knew she wasn't ready to be his girlfriend again. She loved him and she had to admit the pain she felt when she looked into his eyes after the doctor announced she had miscarried or when she told him she was going to Washington or when she saw him that Christmas time was significantly worse than when she had seen him at the gala. She wasn't completely cursed yet but time seemed to be doing it's job. She just wished time could hurry up and heal her completely because any time she saw a young mother and father with their baby or an expecting couple, she couldn't help but feel a pane of jealously and a touch of guilt.

Riley pushed all of these thoughts behind her as she knocked on Lucas' door. He appeared at the other side not two seconds later.

"Hey." He said. "Thanks for coming."

Lucas ushered for Riley to come inside his apartment. It contained most of his furniture already but there were still piles of boxes that remained untouched. She guessed those contained his smaller items.

"You were right." Riley said. "It's a bit off of the beaten path but it's really nice."

"Thanks." Lucas said. "I like it. It just felt roomier and the rent was really good for an apartment this size. I'll sacrifice that for a long drive any day."

"Well, it looks like you might have to." Riley said.

"Yeah, it's a good hour away from work but it's definitely worth it." Lucas said. "So I was going to order out but I only got here about a week ago and since you have been here for six years, I figured you would know some really good places."

"Oh, yeah," Riley replied. "Yeah, I know a few. What type of food are you in the mood for?"

"Whatever you want, honestly." Lucas said.

"Okay." Riley replied. "How about Chinese food?"

"Yeah, that sounds great." Lucas replied.

Riley pulled up the menu on her phone and they both ordered what they wanted. Riley almost felt her body give out again when Lucas was unloading some plates and leaned over her shoulder to look at her phone. She felt his warm breathing on her and her skin was practically begging for him to touch her some way. She probably would have exploded if for some reason he kissed her shoulder. It was weird and uncomfortable, yet familiar. Eventually their food had come and Lucas paid for both, much to Riley's objections.

"No, Riley, it's fine." Lucas had said. "I got it."

"I should pay for my food." Riley insisted in a polite way. "I'm a lawyer, I have money, you know."

"Well I'm a vet." Lucas insisted. "I have money too."

"Wait, wait," the delivery man said, interrupting their mini- argument. "You're a lawyer?" he pointed to Riley and she nodded. "And you're a vet?" motioning to Lucas this time to be followed by a nod from him. "Man, you guys and you're money deserve each other."

"Oh, no we're not-" Riley had started but Lucas had already paid the delivery man, leaving a good tip.

"You really didn't have to do that." Riley said as Lucas handed her her food.

"I know, but I wanted too." Lucas said. "You can pay next time."

Next time? There was going to be a next time? He was already sure of that? Did he not know how many things could go wrong tonight? More things could go wrong than could go right. It was like stepping through a land mine.

"Okay." Riley decided to say instead of panic. She was bond to know there was going to be a next time, wether is be tomorrow or six more years later.

Riley and Lucas ate their food in a somewhat awkward silence. It was better than the silences that followed other situations they had been in but it still wasn't as comfortable as it have ever been.

"So are you seeing anyone?" Lucas blurted out.

"What kind of question is that?" Riley replied, asking as offended as she possibly could. Like he had just asked her to take off all her clothes and lay on his new bed.

"Just a question." Lucas said. "I'm not asking you out or anything."

"Well…" Riley started. She couldn't really be offended by one of the best people she knew asking her a question. "Are you seeing anyone?"

"I asked you first." Lucas replied.

"'I asked you first?'" Riley repeated. "What are you ten?"

"No, I'm not." Lucas replied. "I used to meet girls all the time after we broke up though. They weren't anything too serious. None of them lasted longer than a month or so. I just… I couldn't commit."

"Hm," Riley replied. She supposed she had to tell him the truth too. It was only fair. "I'm not seeing anybody either. I haven't…"

"What?" Lucas asked after an extremely long period of silence. "You haven't what?"

"Okay, please don't make fun of me or feel bad for me or anything because it's a bit embarrassing." Riley pleaded.

"I would never." Lucas promised.

"Well, I haven't been with anybody since you." Riley admitted. "It's hard to date anybody with work and stuff." That wasn't the real reason but it was part of it. Who would want to be with a workaholic lawyer?

"Yeah, I understand that." Lucas said. "I'm on call all day every day so I should probably have mentioned I might have to leave at any time."

"That's all right." Riley said. "I don't mind."

They continued eating their food in silence before Riley asked a very risky question she had been dying to know the answer to.

"So, how long have you been sober?"

Lucas' fork full of noodles stopped midway in the space between the carton and his mouth. It was like she had planned it perfectly.

"I'm sorry, that was a dumb question I shouldn't have-"

"No, you're fine." Lucas said after settling his noodles back in the carton. "I've been sober for about four years now."

"Wow, that's great, Lucas." Riley said. "I'm really proud of you."

"Thanks," he replied. "It never should have been an issue to begin with." He mumbled as he shoved some food in his mouth.

"When did you get help?" Riley asked.

Lucas sighed and ran his hands through his hair. She was getting really tough with these questions. But she was a lawyer. She was used to asking the tough questions.

"Honestly?" Lucas said and Riley nodded. "Well, I didn't make fun of you so you can't make fun of me."

"I promise I won't." Riley said.

"It was right after I saw you on Christmas." Lucas said. "I always prided myself on being a good friend, on doing everything I could for my friends. I never thought I would talk to you or Farkle the way I did. I never wanted to. I remembered most of it. It's a bit of a fuzzy memory I try not to think about but it made me realize that I had hurt two of the people that meant the most to me and it wasn't worth it. I had to take a semester off of school to go to rehab and I had to go to therapy and what not and it was the hardest thing I had ever done but I made it."

"That's…" Riley started as she took in his whole story. "That's amazing, Lucas."

"Thanks," He rolled his eyes and took a drink.

"No, really." Riley insisted. "Not everybody can come out of that situation as cleanly as you did. I'm so proud and so happy you found a way out."

Lucas didn't say anything in reply. The rest of their meal was eaten in silence. Eventually, Lucas suggested they should start unpacking.

"There are some boxes of clothes in my room." He said. "You can start with those if you want."

"All right." Riley said as she moved into his spacious room. "Any particular order?"

"No," Lucas hollered back. "Just tell me what you did before you leave."

Riley might have been too shy or embarrassed to admit this but she remembered exactly how Lucas had organized his clothes when they lived together in Cornell. He liked his pajamas and underwear in the top drawer, his casual t-shirts in the middle and his shorts, sweatpants in the bottom drawer and all of his nicer clothes in his closet. The job was pretty easy since everything was already folded. Riley had just gotten to the bottom on the first box when she saw it. It was a blue fuzzy piece of fabric and had no idea what it was. It wasn't underwear because no underwear she had ever seen had been made of this material, men's or women's. It was too small to be one of Lucas' shirts or shorts, let alone pants or jackets. What was it?

She became overwhelmingly and painfully aware of what the object was once she picked it up, letting gravity unfold it. It unfolded at the top first making it look like a tiny long sleeve shirt, followed quickly by the bottom which was revealed to have tiny legs and feet. A piece of paper fell out with it too and that make it even more painful for Riley. On the paper was the third ultrasound picture Riley had received. That was the appointment they were going to find out the sex of the baby but their doctor had told them that it was still a bit too early but that it was normal and they should be able to find out next time. However, there was no next time because less than there days later, Riley lost the baby.

Riley thought she had seen this image before and she probably had but she hadn't seen the small amount of information in a white bar above the picture. It was mostly her information but then there was a tab she had seen on the first two pictures of their baby labeled 'sex'. That particular label had always been blank but the letter 'M' sat beside this one.

'M' for male.

They were going to have a son.

"Hey, Riley I-" Lucas froze when he saw Riley with the onesie he had gotten for the baby in one hand and the last ultrasound they had taken in her other.

"When did you get this?" Riley finally asked in the smallest and weakest voice and she felt the tears coming to her eyes.

"I got the onesie in the mail." Lucas said after a moment. "It was mine when I was a baby and I asked my mom to send it to me. I told her one of our neighbors needed it. When we found out we were going to have a baby, we were so distant from each other and, for me, personally, I was scared that you would feel pressured to be excited about this when you weren't. I was going to give you this to let you know I would always be by your side and our baby's side and I was excited to be a father. I didn't want you to think I would run out on you and I was worried that was what I was showing.

"As for the picture," He continued. "I got a call from the doctor while you were in class saying they doubled checked the ultrasound and saw that they could tell the gender and I could come down to the hospital to pick up the official sonogram if I wanted to."

"We were going to have a son?" Riley asked.

"Yeah, we were." Lucas responded.

"Is it still hard sometimes for you?" Riley asked. "I mean, aren't there some days you just want to throw back the biggest bottle of whiskey you can find?"

"Yeah, there are." Lucas admitted. "I still remember a lot of the milestones. You know, the day you told me you thought you were pregnant, the day we found out you were, the day we- well I found out we were going to have a boy and what would have been his birthday. But I've healed. He's a part of my life that is tucked away so I don't drink and I don't cry about it anymore. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about."

It had been six years since she had been pregnant. She thought leaving Lucas behind and starting over would be the best thing. She thought she would just forget the most painful thing that had ever happened to her. She thought she would forget the scariest moments of her life. It wasn't until now that she realized, this wasn't something you could simply forget. This wasn't something you could run away from and never talk about ever again. Granted, it didn't have to be something she talked about everyday but it didn't have to be something she completely avoided either. It wasn't healthy to avoid it. She thought she was over it because no body else knew about it, therefore nobody could talk about it. But being with Lucas, the one other person on the planet who knew her deepest, darkest secret, made her realize it is just as painful to talk about it now as it was a day after it happened. It made her realize how many times she did think about the baby and how she didn't think about the first time she saw it or the first time she heard it's heartbeat but the first time she learned it was dead. She associated a thing that was supposed to be the best thing that ever happened to her with death. She realized she cried herself to sleep far too many times for somebody who was truly over the loss of her child. She realized she hadn't healed. She realized she hadn't even come close.

"I'm not over it." Riley said.

"What?" Lucas asked, confused.

Riley felt all the tears she had been holding back for years finally rush out of her eyes. For once, she couldn't be bothered to care.

"I'm not over it." Riley repeated. "I have no idea what you're talking about. It has never gotten easier for me. Talking about it then and talking about it now has been just as painful. I have just been running away from the truth and I don't know how to stop. I hardly stop thinking about him. I thought it would be right to move away from you because every time I see your face I think of him and I think of how happy we would have been together and how I never would have left you and how you never would have been an alcoholic. I'm not where you are. So, can you please help me get there?"

Lucas was silent for a long time. There were several emotions running through his veins and he had thought if he ever ended up in this situation with Riley he would feel overwhelming guilty. He would feel guilty for not fighting harder for her to stay with him. He would feel guilty because she probably blamed herself for their son's death although Lucas knew that was far from the truth. He would feel guilty because she was going to be a mother and she would have been the best mother in the world. Now that this situation he thought was impossible was a reality, he felt a bit guilty but he felt a much bigger, much more powerful emotion coursing through his body he hadn't felt in a long time.

Rage.

"What do you mean you're not over it?" Lucas yelled.

"What?" Riley responded in an even smaller voice than before.

"I thought I could let you leave so you could get some help!" Lucas shouted, his face turning red. "I thought you would be smart enough to figure out this wasn't something you should run away from. I thought you would have gotten help a long time ago like I did."

Riley was shocked and appalled this was how Lucas chose to react. The Lucas she knew would have wrapped her up in his arms and cried with her. The Lucas she knew would have at least held her for a few minutes while she cried. This Lucas was different and she didn't like it. It made her feel embarrassed to have admitted what she just did. He didn't deserve to know that since this was the way he was going to react.

"Okay." Riley sniffled once she had pulled herself together. She had gotten good at that over the years. "Maybe this was a mistake. I'm sorry I… I think I'll just show myself out."

"Maybe you should." Lucas said, sternly.

"Thank you for dinner." Riley said as she grabbed her purse by the door. "I organized your drawers just like you had them in college."

"Pajamas and underwear on top?" Lucas started. "T-shirts in the middle-"

"Shorts on the bottom," Riley continued. "Nice clothes in the closet."

"Thank you." Lucas responded weakly.

"Anytime." Riley said as she closed his apartment door behind her.

* * *

"Riley!"

Riley flung up from her desk in surprise. Mr. Clarkson was standing in front of her, seeming to be the one that had shouted her name and pounded his fights on her desk. She had gotten the worst night's sleep last night because she was thinking about Lucas and their son. She hadn't cried like that in ages and she hated him for it. She didn't want to see him ever again. But she was at work now and she couldn't concentrate on him at the moment.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Clarkson." Riley said. "I didn't get a lot of sleep last night."

"I know you're tired and you probably had a rough night but I need you to look into the fight on this Peterman file." Mr. Clarkson asked. "Jake just dropped it off and since it is your case, you look at the file and see if it is a good idea to take this client."

"Yes, sir." Riley said as she reached for the file labeled 'Peterman Fight' and saw Mr. Clarkson walk toward the front desk, out of her view.

"Oh, hello, Dr. Friar," she heard Mr. Clarkson say and then heard Lucas respond with a 'hello'.

This was not happening. There was no way he was at her place of work at this time there was no way he was going to talk to her. No way. Not after the way he behaved himself last night.

"Is it all right if I talk to Riley?" She heard Lucas ask. "It will only be a minute."

"Oh, of course." Mr. Clarkson said. "That is if you could get her to stay awake."

Not long after Mr. Clarkson's signature laugh did she see Lucas, dressed head to toe in scrubs, come around the corner and approach her desk.

"What do you want?" Riley asked as she opened the Peterman Fight file.

"Did you not sleep well last night?" Lucas asked.

"Oh, I don't know." Riley responded sarcastically. "How would you sleep if you revealed your deepest, darkest secret to somebody you trusted and they yelled at you for it?"

"Yeah, that's why I'm here." Lucas said as Riley dug her nose back into the case file. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I shouldn't have made fun of you when you were that vulnerable with me and I…"

Riley tuned Lucas out for the rest of his, what she was sure, well rehearsed apology. She had just come across something on the case file that caught her eye. It was like a full circle.

"Lucas," Riley cut him off. "Before you came to John Quincy Adams in seventh grade did you attend a Roosevelt Junior High School?"

"Yes?" Lucas responded, a tad confused.

"Did you by chance know a Noah Peterman?" Riley asked.

"Where-where did you get that name?" Lucas asked, suddenly feeling nervous. There was no way she could have known…

"He's in the FBI now." Riley said. "A new client of ours. We get access to the background checks the FBI and CIA do on their agents so we know whether or not they are the type of people we would like to represent. If you didn't know their background checks are very through. They include things like hometowns, prior arrests and yes, even middle school fights."

Lucas swallowed a huge lump in his throat as Riley continued.

"Well, not all middle school fights, I suppose just the ones the police had to be called in." Riley said. "A teacher who saw the fight and was interviewed by the police said, 'The fight was initiated when Party B' that's you 'pushed Party A' that's Noah 'against the lockers on the school wall and repeatedly punched, kicked and taunted Party A until blood was drawn.'"

"Riley, that was forever ago." Lucas pleaded. "A one time thing."

"Really?" Riley asked. "Because this teacher states, 'This was not the first fight Party B had initiated but it was the most violent. Party B was suspended from the school system for one academic year and later attended a middle school in New York.'"

Damn, she was good at this.

"Riley, I-"

"Were you ever going to tell me this?" Riley asked. "You had all of middle school, all of high school, all of college and all of grad school to tell me. You don't think you could have slipped it in in all of those thirteen years?"

"Riles, please just let me-"

"Don't talk to me." Riley said as she shoved the file in her desk and grabbed her purse. "I had no time for you when you walked in a minute ago and I now somehow have less than no time for you.

"I'm taking my lunch break." Riley said. "Don't ever talk to me again."

* * *

 **AN: Well, even the most adorable couples have their fights, right?**

 **I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I started looking at other story reviews, at lest GMW stories and I don't think any review from the New Year is showing up. I think this is a site malfunction and they will hopefully have it fixed soon! I'm super disappointed because I want to show your reviews on here because they have all been so nice and sweet. I can read them in my email but they don't show up on the website for whatever reason. But please keeping reviewing! It means so much to me when you guys take time to tell me how much you love this story or how I can make it better! I hope the site will fix this issue soon.**

 **I'm planning for next chapter to be a heart to heart thing with Riley and Lucas. I really hope I'll post it tomorrow but if I don't, then I probably won't be able to post it until Wednesday or next weekend. It really sucks but I am going to be SO SO busy! College is hard you guys. I'm going to try super hard to write the chapter tomorrow morning and then publish it around 11:00 pm CT or so. I know exactly what I want to happen and it shouldn't be a very long chapter but I didn't think this one was going to be all that long either so... we'll see!**

 **Follow, favorite and REVIEW!**


	5. Resolution

Riley did her best to work the rest of the day without thinking about Lucas and his lie. She had been lied to multiple times before and she always hated it. Even when Maya would tell her she would have to work so they couldn't hang out but in reality, Maya was just too tired to put up with Riley's old, bubbly self. Riley had changed almost every bit of herself in the past six years but that was one of the few things that remained the same. She never liked being lied to.

The rest of the day went as normal. Riley opted to select Noah Peterman as a client since his middle school fight with Lucas was the only discrepancy on his file and that really wasn't his fault. She sent that off to Mr. Clarkson and continued looking through current court cases she was involved in, trying to find new and innovate ways to defend her clients. Typically, this wouldn't take too long. Her opening statement would be done in about twenty minutes and then she would take about an hour to lay out all scenarios the opposition would take and then wrap up her closing statement about ten minutes later. However, she couldn't even bring herself to write a sentence since the only thing that was on her mind was Lucas.

She regretted this the minute she did it, but Riley started to really think about Lucas and how his lie would effect her. To a normal person it wouldn't seem like all that big of a deal. In all honesty, if it wasn't for two people, she would probably be over this within a hour or so but two people destroyed this lie for her. Let's face it, Riley has never been the best at picking her men.

First, there was Charlie. He was her only high school boyfriend. Unlike all her friends, she actually went for an awkward phase in high school, instead of just blooming into an even more attractive person like Maya or Lucas did. Those two attracted all the guys and girls in their high school and Riley always thought it was a wonder they didn't date. She knew they never meant to, but they always made her feel bad, parading around their new boyfriends and girlfriends every other day at lunch. They went through significant others faster than she went through a box of cereal. But then Charlie moved to New York from Nashville and he liked her. He was almost exactly like Lucas in the beginning, the only difference was, he really liked her. She gave him a chance and clung onto him even when he didn't want to be around her. He only mildly abused her but it was still enough for her to take notice now. He broke up with her because she was annoying him and he was afraid of what he would do to her. She always felt bad that she was so co-dependent on a relationship she would put up with something as awful as abuse. She supposed it just made her feel like she would fit in with all her friends. When she and Charlie broke up, she promised herself she wouldn't fall into this trap again. As it turns out, Riley isn't very good at keeping promises either.

Then there was Dylan. Dylan was the worst of them all. He was the type of guy she would fight to put behind bars now and she would never tell her co-workers she dated such scum. They met at university orientation at NYU and hit it off right away. Even when he failed out of his classes, she stood right beside him. He was running some kind of drug dealing business and she knew that. She tried to talk to him many times, to try to get him to see the error of his ways but he continued what he was doing. At one point he yelled at her, which quickly turned into hitting her. She supposed she would have broken up with him if Lucas hadn't come to stay with her family during Christmas that year. She reverted back to her high school self and clung to Dylan like a wet towel. Eventually he was arrested for getting in a fight with Lucas, then busted for his drug dealing. Riley supposed she was lucky for being able to get out of those situations so cleanly.

Now, she had to deal with Lucas. A guy she once thought of as she sweetest, most innocent person she had ever known. Yes, she figured if he had been pushed to the limit, he would be frightening to deal with but she thought that would take a lot. It turns out she was wrong. He used to get in fights all the time. He had the same issues Charlie and Dylan had. She guessed she had a type. She guessed she thought she could turn them around. Although she had failed with Charlie and Dylan, maybe she had succeeded with Lucas without even trying. He hadn't been in a fight the whole time she'd known him, with the exception of his fight with Dylan and the French guy who hit on Riley at a Halloween party.

Wait, was she considering getting back together with Lucas? No! What the hell was she thinking? He wasn't an awful guy or anything but she still had some issues to resolve herself before she could even bare to look at him without feeling the deepest feeling of remorse. How could she love somebody if all she saw when she looked at them was pain? There was no way she and Lucas where ever going to be anything more than friends ever again.

She did want to be friends with him though. After thinking, she came to the conclusion he had to overcome a lot of personal issues in his life. His apparent anger issues and the loss of his child. Although he had struggled a bit with the both of them, he had clearly moved on. She wanted to be his friend so he could help her move on. She needed the one person who knew why she ran away, why she changed and why she hasn't been happy in six years. He had to help her because she didn't know how much longer she could stand this pain.

When Riley returned to her apartment, she was surprised to see a figure sitting outside the door. She was hesitant to approach it since it looked like a fairly large man but she found the courage somewhere. A silver of light shone on his leg and she saw that he was dressed in scrubs.

"Lucas?" She asked.

"Riley." He responded, standing up.

"What are you doing here?" Riley asked.

"I just wanted to talk about what happened today." Lucas said. "And really anything that we are keeping from each other. Secrets don't make friends, Riley. That is if you want to be friends again."

"Is-is that what you want?" Riley asked although she wanted to scream 'yes!' and throw open the door of her apartment.

"Of course that's what I want, Riley." Lucas said. "And I want to help you."

"Well, call me crazy for letting a psychotic middle school fighter into my apartment but I would like to be friends too." Riley said, truly smiling for the first time in a while.

Lucas smiled back at her and walked into her apartment as she turned the key to let him in.

"Nice place." Lucas commented.

"Thanks," Riley responded. "Do you want anything to drink?"

"Just some water, thanks."

Soon, Riley was back with Lucas' water and a bottle of her own. Lucas sat in an arm chair and Riley stayed on her couch on the opposite side of him. They took a few sips of water and stared into random corners of Riley's living room.

"I don't like these awkward moments we are having." Riley said.

"Me neither." Lucas agreed. "I never thought we would have another awkward moment. At least not one with just the two of us."

"How do we get rid of this?" Riley asked, referring to their awkwardness.

"I don't know." Lucas responded. "I would think being friends would help. Or talking at least."

"Probably." Riley responded.

"But I don't like to have secrets between my friends." Lucas stated.

"Really?" Riley asked. "You hid a secret from all of us for thirteen years."

Lucas let out a low sigh and hung his head before he answered Riley.

"Look, that was a bad part of me." Lucas said. "It was a dark time in my life and I didn't know of any other way to make myself feel better."

"What happened?" Riley asked.

"I don't really like talking about it." Lucas responded.

"Well, you did just say we shouldn't keep secrets from each other." Riley quipped.

"I suppose you are right." Lucas said. "But it's kind of a long story."

"That's fine." Riley responded. "I'm not going anywhere."

Lucas sighed again before he began to tell his story.

"When I was young, my parents loved each other and they loved me. I loved them. But when I was about eight or so, my dad got a new job. He was beyond stressed and he often took it out on my mom. He never hit her, as far as I know, but I would hear them screaming at each other from my bedroom at night. At first I felt sad but that quickly turned into anger. I started taking my frustrations out on other kids, thinking this would somehow help my parents get back together. I don't know what I was thinking but it didn't work. If anything, it made things worse. Noah was like the school jock and he was picking on my friend Zay so I thought I'd teach him a lesson. The file was right when it said I hadn't been in a fight that intense. I had caused some bruising before but I hadn't seen blood until that day. I know a normal, sane person would have walked away but something evil and sadistic inside of me told me to keep going. People were trying to pull me back but I just wanted to keep hitting Noah. When I finally stepped away, I almost puked. I knew right then I had to change. My parents discord before the next school year started so I decided to go to New York with my mom since it would give me a better opportunity to start over. And it worked because I haven't been in a fight since. Well, I have but you know about both of them and I think we can agree they weren't my fault."

Riley slowing began to take in everything Lucas was telling her. She knew this must have been hard for him because, as far as she knew, he hadn't divulged any of this information about his life to anyone before. She supposed the least she could do was be vulnerable in return.

"I really don't mind being lied to." Riley confessed as she tried to hold back the already growing tears in her eyes. God, she hated being on the spot. Sure, she was lawyer and had to work court cases and such but those situations were never focused on her. "We all do it at one point or another. I suppose I've technically been lying to everybody I meet because they don't know about… anyway, that's not the reason I was upset with you."

"So you're not upset with me anymore?" Lucas asked.

"I was never upset with you." Riley stated. "I was upset with myself. God, I have the worst taste in guys."

"Riles, what are you talking about?" Lucas asked.

"I guess I just always pick guys with anger issues." Riley said. "First Charlie, then Dylan and then you. How long was it going to be before you let loose on me? Or better yet, how many times did you just want to punch me in my stupid face?"

Riley couldn't help the tears streaming down her eyes now. She placed her head in her hand and started sobbing, not even caring that Lucas was sitting right in front of her. Not caring what on earth he would do to her. She was already living in hell, nothing else could be worse.

Lucas couldn't believe what he was hearing. He was upset that she would compare him to the scumbags she had dated before him. He supposed he understood why she would think that way but it still hurt. He wanted to yell but he knew if he did that, he would just be confirming every single fear she had in regards to him. The last thing he needed to do was make her more terrified of him.

"Hey, hey," Lucas muttered, figuring it was okay to take a spot next to her on the couch. He placed a gentle hand on her back and began rubbing, slow and gentle circles. "Listen to me. I would _never_ treat you like those bastards did. I promise you, it's an issue I had a one time but it's just a part of my past now. I would never let loose on you and I would never hit you in your face, which I think is beautiful, not stupid. I love you, Riles and I don't believe people who love each other cause them any of that pain."

Riley looked up and him and wanted to just mutter a 'thank you' or something along those lines but she could only force herself to focus on one part of that sentence.

"You love me?" Riley asked.

"If we are being honest, yeah I do." Lucas said. "But you are still not in a shape to be with anybody I'm assuming."

"No, I'm not." Riley said.

"Then I'll wait."

Riley wanted to say he didn't have a chance because he was the source of almost all of her current pain. She wished she could look at him and see a future like she used to. Now, she saw a future and it was beautiful but it was a future she couldn't live in. However, they were having such a nice moment at the time, she didn't want to ruin it by starting an argument.

"I meant what I said on the back of the photo, you know?" Riley said, referring to the picture she had put on the coffee maker before she left New York for Washington.

"I know." Lucas responded. "But it's good to hear."

They were silent for a bit after that. It wasn't awkward like it had been previous times and it wasn't as comfortable as it used to be, but it was a lot better than it had been in a long time.

"So, how did you get over…" Riley sighed before continuing. "The baby?"

"Well, I'm not really over it." Lucas said. "I don't think I can be over it, really. It's not something we are made to get over but it's not as painful as it used to be. But I found talking about it helped."

"Talking about it?" Riley asked. "Who did you tell?"

"Nobody, really." Lucas said. "After I got out of rehab, I went to see a therapist in California. She was a lifesaver and she made me realize things I don't think I could have seen by myself. She's not allowed to tell anybody any information regarding clients so I think it's still a secret."

"So…" Riley started. "You think I should see a therapist?"

"I don't know what you need to do." Lucas said. "But that's what I attribute most to healing me. Alcohol wasn't good and rehab did wonders as well but I think I would have just fallen back into that pattern if I hadn't gone to see somebody."

Riley supposed everything he was saying made sense. For whatever reason, she never thought about going to therapy until now. She supposed she was too afraid to think of solutions and just continue living in ignorant bliss, pretending like she had never miscarried a child before.

"Maybe that's not the worst idea." Riley said.

"Maybe not." Lucas responded.

"I just wish I would have done this sooner." Riley said. "I wish I would have stayed with you, I wish I would have gotten help as soon as I could, I…"

Riley was sobbing yet again. She hated being this emotional, especially around Lucas. She didn't want him to think that she was so dependent on him and his advice about their secret. But in all honesty, at the moment, she was extremely dependent on him to get her through this situation. She needed him to be here with her every step of the way and she didn't even need to ask if he would be there whenever she needed him because she already knew the answer.

"I just wish he was here." Riley said. Lucas didn't need to ask who she was talking about.

"I know." Lucas replied as he pulled her into a hug on the couch and kissed her hair. "I do too."

Riley cried herself to sleep that night. It took a while for Lucas to notice and he started to doze off too once it started to get late. His eyes had dropped and his head fell back against her couch when it smacked onto the wood piece behind it. He was at least halfway awake now. Enough to know that he was in Riley Matthews' apartment with her asleep on his chest, red tracks running down her face from all the crying she had done earlier in the night.

"Riles?" He whispered, gently as he shook her side. "Riley, are you asleep?" He had to make sure or else she might get mad he stayed as late as he did.

She gave him no answer so he supposed she had indeed fallen asleep. He also supposed she wouldn't get too upset with him if he stayed the night. After their breakup, there was a long period of time he never thought he would fall asleep with Riley again. This very well might be the last time he would fall asleep with her so he figured he would take advantage of it.

She was curled up against him on the couch in a comfortable sleeping position while he was forced to lay his head on the arm. It was simultaneously the best and worst night of sleep he had gotten in a long time. When the woke up, Lucas had a crick in his neck and Riley massaged it out for him.

Oh yes, their friendship was back.

* * *

 **AN: Hey guys! I hoped you enjoyed this chapter!**

 **So now that my school has started back up, you can expect weekly updates for this story. Weekends are going to be the only times I can write and maybe not even then to be completely honest. I love you guys, but my education has to come first. I wouldn't be able to write these stories if it weren't for that.**

 **I have a few ideas for the next chapter but I don't know which one I'm going to go with yet. We will see!**

 **Follow, favorite and review!**


	6. Familiar

As Lucas had advised, Riley set up an appointment with a therapist in town after doing a bit of research and finding which one would work best of her. Her first few appointments were rather difficult and resulted in her crying by the end of it but she had been going for once a week for almost three months now and it was getting better. She was finally starting to feel like her old self again. She didn't spend her nights coped up with a case file and a warm cup of tea anymore, instead opting to go to Lucas' apartment to hang out with him. Her new attitude must have been showing at work because she began hanging out with the other young lawyers in the firm and they invited her to hang out several nights of the week and through them, she made even more friends. She wasn't quite the social butterfly she had been before but she was definitely more open that she had been. The last time she remotely felt like this was when she was living with Lucas.

Speaking of Lucas, he had been her rock throughout this process and she didn't think she could ever thank him enough. He was there for her in the early times when her therapy was rough. He even convinced her to stay home from work one day after her second session, which had been the worst of them all. He was called in a few times throughout the day but for the most part, he stayed with her to make sure she was okay. Eventually, she got to that happy place again and their post-therapy comforting sessions turned into casual hangs. They loved each other's company but Riley still wasn't sure what she wanted from Lucas.

She had been considering dating for the first time in six years again. She still loved Lucas, probably even more so now than she ever had. Granted, love can come in different forms. The way she loved Auggie seven years ago was not at all similar to the way she loved Lucas back then. She knew that she loved him and he loved her. They threw the phrase around like it meant nothing these days but it was always comforting for her to know. The issue was, she didn't know how she loved him. Yes, she was turning back into her old self but she was never going to be that exact person again. There was no doubt in her mind that her twenty- three year old self loved Lucas in a non-brotherly way but she was thirty- one now so her feelings and her attitude towards almost everything had changed for good, even though she was happy once again. She doubted she felt a brotherly type of love for him but maybe something more friendly, like the type of love she felt for Maya.

But then she also thought she might be restricting herself a little bit. She was still extremely insecure when it came to talking about their baby. It took every ounce of will power she had to talk to her therapist about it. She still didn't like thinking about it. Her therapist had shared with her that she had never had a miscarriage so she couldn't quite understand the pain. Riley didn't know of anybody that had had a miscarriage besides herself so the closest person that could understand that was Lucas. He had mentioned that he didn't feel like he would ever get over it. If he wasn't over it, how was he able to stand Riley? Did he never imagine the future with her and their baby whilst she was pregnant? Why was he okay with this?

"Why are you okay with this?" Riley asked Lucas one night while they were eating dinner.

"Okay with what?" Lucas asked.

"With this!" Riley exclaimed, gesturing between the two of them. "With us hanging out all the time. I love it but it seems so natural for you but for me, I look at you sometimes and just see what our future could have been and it hurts."

"I know." Lucas said.

"What do you mean you know?" Riley asked.

"That happens to me too, Riles." Lucas said. "I mean I look at you and sometimes I think about how you would have looked if you looked really pregnant or how it would have felt to feel the baby kick for the first time or how it would have felt to actually see it the first time. It would have been amazing."

"It would have been horrible." Riley replied. "I mean when you say it like that, it sounds amazing but I still had one semester left of school. I would have had to have done my internship while I was pregnant and then when the baby came, you still would have had four more years of school. It would have been hell."

"Right, as opposed to the four years afterwards that actually happened." Lucas said. "I would have much rather have had a baby then go through what I did or have you go through what you did."

Riley supposed he was right. Sure, a baby cried, pooped and spit up a lot but just the few weeks she knew she was pregnant, she loved it nearly as much as she loved Lucas already. The four years that followed her miscarriage had been completely devoid of love and she would have much rather felt all the love in the world but been completely sleep deprived than feel absolutely nothing.

"What else do you think about?" Riley asked, part of her fearing how she would react, a part of her excited.

"Well, I thought about how I would have felt holding him for the first time." Lucas said. "I imagined him grabbing onto my finger with his whole, tiny hand wrapped around it. I thought about me holding him in a chair hours after he was born and you would be asleep and I would promise him that he would have a childhood unlike mine in every sense of the word. I imagined him saying his first word, 'dada' of course."

"Oh I don't know about that." Riley said. "My first word was 'mama'. So was my mom's, dad's and brother's. It runs in the Matthews family."

"Yeah, but he would have been a Friar too, wouldn't he?" Lucas asked.

"Yeah, I suppose." Riley replied. "Do you Friar's have a long line of babies whose first word is 'dada'?"

"I don't know." Lucas said. "I just know mine was 'dada'."

Riley was surprised and proud that she was having a conversation about her son she never had and actually smiling about it. His life would have been a great thing but unfortunately it didn't happen. It was very nice to think about what could have been.

"What did he look like when you pictured him?" Riley asked.

"You mean when he would be older?" Lucas asked and Riley nodded. "He had dark brown, curly hair and brown eyes."

"That sounds like me." Riley said.

"Well, I figured he'd look a like more masculine than you." Lucas said. "Maybe with my nose and skin. What about you? What did you picture?"

"Basically you but with brown eyes." Riley said. "It's not really like I need any reassurance that he's mine, but I would like to see just one little bit of me in him."

"They both would have been perfect." Lucas said.

"Yeah, they would have been."

The rest of the night was an emotional roller coaster for the pair. They laughed, they smiled, they cried and they engaged in just about any other emotion they could over the course of that night. It was one of the best nights Riley could ever remember.

It wasn't until around three o'clock in the morning that Lucas ended their long conversation.

"I think I'm going to call it a night if you don't mind." Lucas said. "I have an early day tomorrow."

"That's fine." Riley said. "Do you mind if I stay here?"

"Sure, no problem." Lucas said. This wasn't too odd of them. Riley would spend several nights in Lucas' apartment, especially when they were up until around this time talking and she didn't feel comfortable going out at this time. Frankly, Lucas didn't like her leaving either.

"You know where they couch is." Lucas said pointing to his couch that was covered in a heap of blankets Riley liked to sleep with when she spent the night.

"Actually, do you mind if I stay with you?" Riley asked, hesitantly. She had been going back and forth about what kind of love she felt for Lucas all night and she still hadn't decided. She wasn't asking to have sex with him or anything, just a good, long cuddle. Surely this would determine how she loved him.

"You-you mean…?" Lucas trailed off.

"I've just had a really good time and I'd hate to see it end. I'm really tired too, though." Riley said. "We'd just be sleeping."

"O-okay." Lucas said after a moment, still looking utterly confused. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I am." Riley replied. "Unless you don't want to…"

"No," Lucas answered, perhaps a little too forcefully. "No, I want to. I just don't want to unless you're absolutely sure."

"I am." Riley said.

"Okay, then."

Their routine was extremely awkward yet familiar. Almost nothing had changed since they last lived together but they weren't together anymore. They were going to be a bit intimate in a moment, which they hadn't done in a long time. Yes, they had been emotionally intimate for the past few months but never physically. It was a different kind of intimate because it triggered different emotions. They just hoped for the other's sake, they would be bad emotions.

Lucas crawled into bed first and, as Riley expected, he laid down flat on his back. He always did this when they lived together and he claimed he couldn't fall asleep on his side or his stomach if he ever tried. She also knew she was going to be fighting for leg room. Because he laid like this, he often spread out like a starfish across the bed, taking up any available room. She had his trained before but she figured he kicked the habit after they broke up.

Riley crawled up next to him on his right side like he expected her to. He held up his arm, a bit tentatively but this was what they had done before. Luckily for him, Riley was quick to cuddle into him. Lucas finally felt whole for the first time in a long time. He could say he was happy with his life but he was never as thrilled as he ever was when he was with Riley. She just saw everything, including him, in a different light. She was his other half and he hoped she would take him back some day.

As usual, he stroked her hair until she fell asleep. It was a bit subconscious at this point, even though it had been over six years since he had last done it. Eventually, he felt her breathing start to slow and he knew she was asleep. He decided it would be a good idea to follow and kissed her forehead before saying.

"I love you so much."

* * *

Riley woke up to a vibrating feeling against her butt. She had forgotten that she had spent the night at Lucas' and couldn't change into her pajamas so slept in her jeans until then. She looked up to see Lucas was still asleep. Luckily, she still remembered how to get out of bed without waking up Lucas. It wasn't all that hard. He was a heavy sleeper. If they had had their baby, she probably would have been the first one up with him.

Once she got out of Lucas' grasp, she hurried out into the hallway so she could answer whoever was calling her. To her surprise, it was Maya. This was a bit odd. Maya wasn't supposed to call her for a while. She was very busy working and planning her wedding to have a long talk with Riley, although Riley had asked for one multiple times. Maybe now she was going to, but her timing was awful.

"Maya?" Riley asked, still tired and confused. She had only gotten a few hours of sleep last night.

"Hey, I'm sorry, I didn't wake up did I?" Maya asked. She sounded like she had been crying. They had been apart for six years but Riley could still tell when her best friend was upset.

"No, not at all." Riley lied. "Is everything okay?"

"No," Maya answered. "Yes. I don't know."

"What happened?" Riley continued to press. "Josh didn't leave you, did he?"

"No, he didn't," Maya responded. "Not yet."

"What are you talking about?" Riley asked before Maya dropped a bombshell on her maid of honor.

"I'm pregnant."

* * *

 **AN: Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and the big twist! I have some pretty cool plans for Maya's wedding and her pregnancy and how both will affect Riley and Lucas.**

 **Hopefully that one will be up next week. I'm sorry this one took so long and it's pretty short compared to what I typically write but hopefully the next chapter will be a little bit longer.**

 **I think the next chapter will be around this length, if not longer. I'm not sure but it will once again present some problems for Riley and Lucas.**

 **Follow, favorite and review!**


	7. Surprise

"What?" Was all Riley could bring herself to say. Logically, it wasn't all that surprising. Maya and Josh had been together for nearly as long as she and Lucas had and Maya had been much more blunt about her sex life then Riley ever had. Riley knew they were sexually active and they were at it a lot so it really shouldn't surprise her but it did.

"I just took the tests." Maya said. "Five of them, all positive. I've been suspicious for a while but fortunately, I don't think Josh has a clue."

"Why-why are you telling this to me?" Riley stuttered.

"Because you were my best friend once." Maya answered. "I used to tell you everything first and, I don't know, this just felt right. Besides you were in this situation before weren't you?"

"That was just a scare, Maya." Riley lied. "We didn't have to deal with it because it never turned out to be anything."

"I guess." Maya said, obviously at a complete loss for words.

"Have you and Josh talked about having kids?" Riley decided to ask.

"Yeah, but not for another few years." Maya answered. "We only just got to L.A. and we still aren't positive this was the right choice. We needed to settle in before we even thought about having kids."

"You need to tell him." Riley said.

"I know, but how?" Maya had asked. "It doesn't feel like something I should just blurt out."

"Yeah, but when I told Lucas I…" Riley had to stop herself from saying she was pregnant. "I thought I was pregnant, I did blurt it out. It took him off guard but we got through it."

"Okay, but your situation is different than mine." Maya said. "You were never actually pregnant."

Riley knew Maya never meant to do this but it honestly felt like she had punched her in the stomach. It wasn't Maya's fault. She didn't know Riley was pregnant at one point and she didn't know how sensitive a subject this was for her. Still, it hurt to talk about to just Lucas but talking about it to somebody else was beyond painful. The kicker was they weren't even talking about it. Riley was just implying it.

"Yeah, you're right," Riley responded. "I have no idea what to do. Good luck."

"No, Riles, wait-" She heard Maya say from the other line before she hung up the phone.

Riley leaned against Lucas' kitchen counter and tried to collect herself. At first she didn't feel bad being vulnerable with Lucas, and was rather proud of herself for opening up to him the way she did. But now she was getting stronger and wanted to get through some of these situations by herself.

Speaking of Lucas, Riley still didn't know how she felt about him. She thought she would wake up in the morning and it would be so obvious it would be stupid how she felt. She thought she was going to want to kiss him all over when they woke up or just hug him extra tight. But she still had no idea how on earth she felt. It was so frustrating to be in this grey area.

Riley finally got a hold of herself and when to make some coffee. Not long after the coffee was ready, Lucas himself came sauntering out of his bedroom.

"Hey," He said as he came beside her to pour himself a cup of coffee.

"Hi," Riley responded, her voice accidentally cracking.

"Are you all right?" He asked.

"Yeah," Riley responded, not daring to tell him about her conversation with Maya. "Just tired is all."

"Okay." Lucas said. "Thanks for this." He gestured to the coffee.

"No problem." Riley said as she took a sip of her own.

"Listen, Riley about last night-" Lucas started but was cut off by his ringtone. "Do you mind if I get this? It might be work."

"No problem." Riley repeated.

Riley was able to catch a quick glance at his phone to see who was calling him. Once again, she shouldn't have been surprised.

"Hey, Josh, what's up, man?" She heard Lucas say into the phone.

"What?" Lucas said as his eyes nearly popped out of his head in shock. Riley couldn't hear Josh on the other line but she assumed Maya had told him she was pregnant.

"Well, what did you say?" Lucas asked.

"Then what are you talking to me for?" Lucas said. "Go talk to Maya!"

"Just let her know that you're there for her." Lucas said. "I got to go. Bye."

"What was that all about?" Riley asked.

"Oh, nothing." Lucas said. "Just Josh worrying about the-"

"Maya's pregnant." Riley interrupted. She knew Lucas wouldn't want to tell her because it was a sensitive subject for her. She did want to talk about it though and she would do her best to be okay with it.

"How did you know?" Lucas asked.

"She called me earlier and told me." Riley said.

"So is that why you were upset?" Lucas asked.

"I'm not upset!" Riley exclaimed. "I'm really not. I'm happy for them and I hope they can work this out."

"Okay." Lucas said. "Me too."

"So, um," Riley started. "I should probably go home so I can get ready for work."

"Yeah, okay." Lucas replied. "I'll see you tonight?"

"Yeah, I'll be around after therapy." Riley said.

As Riley was leaving, she thought about how she had just reacted towards Lucas about Maya and Josh's news. She acted like an idiot. She thought she could pour her heart out too him and there was nothing she could hide from him but she was wrong. After all these years, there was still a small part of her that didn't trust him. She wished she did because she felt like her decision as far as how she should love Lucas would be much clearer. However, one of the reasons she loved him when they were in college was because she could open up to him in any way possible. Granted, she wasn't as scarred back then as she is now so it was easier. Her biggest problem back then was her insecurity. Now, losing a baby had laid on more and more issues.

It was then she made her decision. If she was younger, she might be able to just mess around and date Lucas but she didn't want to be with anybody unless she knew there was something special between them. She didn't feel that connection with Lucas anymore so she wouldn't date him. She knew exactly how she loved him now.

He was her best friend and she loved him like one.

* * *

Riley had a hard time concentrating at work. She was thinking about her decision regarding Lucas. She was going to have to tell him. Maybe she was overthinking this. He probably felt the same way. If he did, that would make all of this so much easier. But if by some miracle he wanted to take things back to the way they were before, that would be a problem. It really didn't have anything to do with the baby anymore. It was just Riley making a decision regarding her love life.

"Hey, Riley."

Speaking of love life.

"Hi, Jake."

"Here's the newest case file for you." Jake said as he tossed a manilla folder on top of her already towering collection of case files.

"Great." Riley responded, sarcastically. "Work was getting a little slow."

"Always glad to be of help." Jake said. "So word around the office is that you've changed?"

"How so?" Riley asked, giving him her full attention.

"They've been saying you seem happier, more involved." Jake said.

"Yeah, I suppose that's true." Riley replied as she waved to one of her co-workers who was going into Mr. Clarkson's office.

"Do you mind if I ask what happened?" Jake asked. "It had to have been something good."

"Well, I had a problem about six years ago and I came here to get away from it." Riley said. "It wasn't the type of problem you should run away from though and I'm finally getting help with it."

"Oh, I see." Jake said. "Well, I'm happy for you. If you ever need anything, my door is always open."

"Thanks, Jake." Riley replied.

Jake hopped off the edge of her desk and started to walk off. Riley didn't know what came over her but it was a strange and strong feeling she hadn't felt in years. Probably just instinct but it was powerful. Jake was sweet, good-looking and had a well rounded job. Riley could do much worse. She had done much worse.

"Jake?" She called just before he made a turn out of her office.

"Yeah?" He responded, turning around in a cool kind of way.

"Do you think you would like to go out some time?" Riley asked before she could second guess herself.

"What?" Jake asked, obviously flabbergasted.

"Do you want to go out with me or were you joking every time you've ever flirted with me?" Riley teased.

"I- yeah, that sounds great." Jake said. "I'm free tomorrow night if you want to hang out."

"That sounds fantastic."

* * *

Riley showed up to Lucas' apartment at seven o'clock that night. She had bought herself a key a few weeks ago and she practically lived there now. She would have to go back to her apartment for her date with Jake though. He would probably think it was weird to pick her up from her ex-boyfriend's home.

Lucas' apartment was strangely dark. For a moment Riley thought he wasn't home. Maybe he had been called in on an emergency or something. But then she saw a faint light coming from his kitchen.

"Lucas?" She asked softly.

"Hey, Riley." Lucas said from behind the kitchen counter that was completely covered in candles. "Is this too much?"

"Just a tad." Riley said. "Do you mind if I turn on the lights?"

"Yeah, no problem." Lucas said.

Once Riley had flipped the switch on the panel, she put her bag down and took off her jacket. Once she had walked up to the counter she realized Lucas had cooking a big, fancy meal for the pair.

"So, what's the occasion?" Riley asked as she sat down across from him on the island.

"Um, I just wanted to make this night special." Lucas said.

"Okay." Riley drug out the word.

"Let's just eat first and then I'll tell you." Lucas said.

Since she hadn't had anything to eat since lunch, Riley couldn't argue with that. She enjoyed her food and some small talk with Lucas before he got down to business.

"Do you mind if I say what I was going to now?" Lucas asked after they had both finished.

"Go ahead." Riley replied.

"Okay," Lucas said. "I'm really proud of you. You've been making a lot of progress since you started therapy and I know you're not completely healed, and I might be totally wrong here so don't get mad at me because I'm not going to force you to do anything you don't want to do. But something tells me that you are ready to date again?"

"Oh yeah, I actually meant to talk to you about that-" Riley said before Lucas cut her off.

"Really?" Lucas asked, not really giving her a chance to answer. "That's so great, Riles. I really am so proud of you. You're amazing and I can't wait to start over with you."

"Wait-" Riley started again. Did he want to get back together? But she just agreed to go out with Jake. She didn't want to be with Lucas. She didn't think she wanted to be with Lucas.

She was cut off again but Lucas grabbing her in an enormous bear hug an practically pulling her out of her bar seat. Something in Riley didn't want this to stop. Something else in Riley told her to push him off of her because she was seeing somebody else. She couldn't ever resist Lucas and it was only a hug after all. It was a nice moment and she didn't want to ruin it. She would tell him when they pulled away.

However, once they pulled apart, his eyes were glistening and he had a look on his face that she knew all too well.

"I love you." He said.

"I love you, too." Riley replied, getting lost in his blue-green eyes. That wasn't a lie so she didn't feel bad about saying it but she loved him like a friend.

It took her a while to realize his face was getting much, much closer to hers. Then, before she knew what was happening, his lips were covering hers. It was surprising at first. She didn't think he would be that blunt right off the bat. But here she was, seeing a man and kissing another. She knew it was a mistake, but she could help it. She let herself savor his kiss because it was just as good if not better than what he had to offer before. Maybe she had just been away from it so long that she forgot how amazing it felt.

He backed away all too soon and the second she laid eyes on him she thought of Jake and what a mistake it was to ask him out today. She was sure he had the capability to be a fine kisser and could treat her very well, but he would probably be nothing compared to Lucas.

"That was amazing." Lucas muttered.

"I'm seeing someone else." Riley said just as softly.

"What?" Lucas asked at a normal volume as he backed out of their embrace.

"I'm seeing someone else." Riley repeated. She wanted to say more but she could think of anything else to say. She didn't want to lie to him or promise him something that might not happen right now. He didn't deserve that.

Lucas looked like he was going to scream for about ten seconds. His face was crinkled up and his left hand was balled in a tight fist while his right hand was placed on his hip. Suddenly he let his grip go and his face went back to normal.

"I'm sorry." Lucas said. "I-I should have asked. You're so smart and beautiful. What guy wouldn't want you?"

Riley wanted to say something again but she was once again at a loss for words.

"I think I'm going to bed." Lucas said as he began walking back to his bedroom. "Feel free to stay if you want."

It took Riley a few seconds to get a grip and chase Lucas back to his bedroom.

"Lucas, wait-" but his door had already been slammed and not a second later did she hear the lock click.

* * *

 **AN: Well, you have to have a heartbreak chapter, right? Please don't hate me! Lol.**

 **One of the reasons I love hearing from you guys is I sometimes get wonderful story ideas. One of the review in Smile wondered what it would be like if Riley met a decent guy rather than the guys I've had her with in the past. I made a few creative decisions and Jake was born. It was a Guest review otherwise I would totally give you a shout out. But if you are still reading this series, thank you for the wonderful idea! I hope I can interpret it well!**

 **Next chapter will feature a lot of Riley and Jake and also a small appearance by the best couple ever, Cory and Topanga Matthews as they share their opinions about the new Riley, Maya's pregnancy and the one and only Lucas Friar.**

 **Follow, favorite and review!**


	8. Licorice, Chocolate and Popcorn

The next morning, Riley woke up in her own apartment. Oddly enough, it did feel a bit weird since this was the first night she had slept at her own place in nearly a week. She couldn't stay at Lucas' though. Not after what happened last night. Never in a million years did Riley think that Lucas was going to have feelings for her again, much less admit them. She felt bad for turning him down but she didn't feel the same way.

She thought…

That kiss changed everything. She had forgotten what it felt like to kiss him since she hadn't done it in so long. She remembered it felt good. Really good. But she didn't think that it would be that incredible. It was one of those movie kisses that girls would talk about for days. She remembered getting those kind of kisses from him and listening to Maya talk about those kinds of kisses with Josh.

She also supposed that the reason Lucas' kiss felt so amazing was because they had a history. Movies had some accuracy but falling in love with a person because their first kiss felt incredible was a lie. Sure, her first kiss with Lucas was one for the story books but the feeling of it was nothing so amazing. Their kisses got better because they feel in love and they meant more to one another. If Riley took the time to build that kind of relationship with Jake, she was sure his kiss could be just as good if not better than Lucas'.

Today was a Saturday so Riley had the whole day to do whatever she wanted. She decided to get on her computer and check up with the issues of the day. Around ten o'clock, she got a Skype notification from Cory Matthews, no doubt a Skype notification from her parents. Riley still Skyped with her parents about once a month or so. There had been a particular drought though because the last time they had requested to chat was her first night of therapy and she wasn't in any condition to Skype with them. Now, she was fine.

"Hi, mom. Hi, dad." Riley said as she opened up the window and waved at them.

"Hey, Riley." Topanga spoke first. "How are things at the law firm?"

"Oh, busy as usual." Riley replied. "How are things at your law firm?"

"Just the same as you." Topanga replied.

"Good, you need to stay busy." Riley joked. "Oh, I was going to call Maya and ask but have they set a date for their wedding yet? I need to know what dates I need to tell my boss to take off so I can come up there for the wedding."

"Right, about the wedding…" Cory started a bit apprehensively. "We don't know if there is going to be one anytime soon."

"What?!" Riley exclaimed. Did Josh run off? Is Maya okay? Riley knew Josh was family but she would kill him in a second if he hurt Maya. "What happened?"

"Well, did Maya or Josh happen to tell you the news?" Topanga asked just as fearful as her husband just did.

"Yeah, Maya's pregnant." Riley said like it was no big deal. "Did they call it off?"

"Oh, no." Cory and Topanga both said in unison.

"No, they just can't decide if they want to have their wedding before the baby was born or after." Topanga said. "Maya doesn't want to be noticeably pregnant at the wedding."

"Huh." Was all Riley managed to say. "Oh, what did Uncle Shawn do?"

"He was as expected." Cory said. Since he became Maya's stepfather, Shawn Hunter had always been perhaps a bit too overprotective of Maya. "Maya and Josh told all of us through Skype. Katy's excited to be a grandmother though."

"Well, that's good." Riley said. "Probably best that they told you guys through Skype though."

"Yeah, Shawn tried to punch a hole through the computer." Topanga replied.

"Oddly enough, that doesn't surprise me at all." Riley said.

They all laughed a bit before Cory started the conversation back up again.

"Riley, you know I love Maya like a second daughter and Josh is my brother but… man, I'm glad I'm not in Shawn's position." Cory said.

"What do you mean?" Riley asked.

"Well, I guess it's more common nowadays to have a baby out of wedlock but if you had gotten pregnant while you were with Lucas, I don't know how I would have felt. Especially considering the way he turned out. " Cory said.

"What do you mean?" Riley asked, nervously.

"Just the way he treated you the last time you were here." Cory said. "He seemed to be running down a dangerous path. I'm really disappointed Josh picked him for his best man. I was voting for Farkle. Oh well, at least Farkle's a groomsman."

"Well, if Lucas and I had had a baby out of wedlock we would have been in our mid to late twenties which is a normal time to have a baby, by the way." Riley tried to defend herself, although she didn't really know what she was defending herself from. "It's the same age you guys were when you had Auggie."

"No, no, it's not bad, sweetie." Topanga tried to calm her daughter. "It's just, having a baby is hard. It changes everything."

"So you're saying you wouldn't have supported me if Lucas and I had a baby?" Riley asked.

"No, that's not what we are saying at all." Topanga replied. "If that had happened we would have helped you two the best we could. It's just hard for married couples that actually planned it out, let alone two people who are just dating or are engaged by accident."

"Well, marriage isn't all it's cracked up to be." Riley stated.

"Riley, what has gotten into you?" Cory asked.

"Nothing!" Riley exclaimed, suddenly feeling like she was thirteen again. "Nothing, I'm fine." She answered much more calmly.

"I have to go." Riley said. "Call me back with any updates."

Thankfully, Riley was able to calm herself down by the time seven o'clock rolled around. If something like that had happened to her in the very recent past, it would have ruined her whole day. Now, she was upset for a little bit but got over it very soon. She was currently sitting on her couch watching some dumb show on TV in jeans and a sweater. Jake should be by her place anytime soon.

Not a moment later did Riley hear a knock on her door. She almost ran up to it to answer excited to be getting out again.

"Hey, Jake!" Riley exclaimed, doing a horrible job of hiding her enthusiasm.

"Hi, Riley." Jake responded with a smile on his face, yet he was still slightly taken aback by her excitement. "You look great."

"It's just jeans and a sweater." Riley replied.

"Yeah, I know." Jake said. "But I see you dressed up all the time. It's nice to know that you are just as beautiful in jeans and a sweater as you are in fancy work clothes."

Riley smiled at his sweet compliment before grabbing her jacket and walking down the stairs to his car.

"So, where are we going?" Riley asked.

"I was thinking about seeing a movie." Jake replied. "If that's all right with you."

"Yeah, absolutely." Riley said. "What do you want to see?"

"I would say that's up to you." Jake replied.

"Hm. I don't know." Riley said. "I don't really care as long as it's not a cheesy love story."

"Well, I promise I won't pick that." Jake said.

The rest of their car ride was pretty silent and they just chose to listen to the radio. It wasn't awkward though, it was pretty comfortable. Once they got to the theater, they chose the new superhero movie and ordered their snacks.

"I like to put licorice in my popcorn." Jake told her once they had their snacks. "I hope you don't mind."

"No, that's fine." Riley said. "I'll just pick around it."

"I don't have to do it if you don't want me to." Jake stated.

"No, it's fine, really." Riley said. "I like licorice just not in my popcorn."

"Oh, you just don't like them together?" Jake asked. "That's weird because they really are better together."

"Okay." Riley laughed. "Have you ever mixed the chocolate in with it?"

"No, is that what you do?" Jake asked.

"Sometimes." Riley replied. "But I haven't really been to the movies in a while."

"Oh, well then let's get some chocolate for old times sake." Jake said.

"You really don't have to." Riley told him as he walked back up to the counter.

"It's no problem." Jake said. "Besides, it wouldn't be much of a date if I just made everything about me."

Soon, they had their popcorn, licorice and chocolate all mixed together. Every now and a again Riley got a handful of just popcorn, sometimes she got the licorice and the chocolate. She couldn't lie, it was the best movie snack she had ever had. About halfway through the movie, she felt Jake's arm curl around her shoulders and she welcomed it, leaning further against him. The movie had a lot of action but there was also a bit of love between two of the superheroes. It was a new kind of love between old friends and it was genuine and it was lovely. It wasn't the cheesy type of love romance movies portray but ti wasn't the grinding love comedies portrayed but rather something oddly realistic and achievable. It was the type of love Riley had sot after for years now. She always thought it would be Lucas she would share this love with but make it was actually the guy sitting beside her.

On their way back home they talked about themselves. Riley told him she was from New York and told him about her family and friends, leaving Lucas out of the conversation though. She knew Jake pretty well but she didn't know how he would act as a boyfriend. She didn't want to make him jealous right off the bat. He told her that he was from Atlanta but found love in the U.S. military. He served in the Navy for a few years before working for the FBI. He was as open as he could be with her but Riley understood why he had to be so vague sometimes. FBI agents couldn't be very open at all with their lives. This was just something Riley was going to have to deal with.

They parked outside of her apartment and said their good nights. She didn't know what possessed her but the next thing she knew she was kissing him. She thought when she kissed him, all she would think about was how Lucas could do so much better and how her first kiss with Lucas was so much better than her first kiss with Jake but Lucas never entered her mind. Her first kiss with Jake was worlds better than her first kiss with Lucas and that one was still pretty dreamy. She couldn't comprehend much while she was kissing Jake but she knew one thing, she was glad she took a chance with him.

It had been nearly a week since Riley's first date with Jake. They hadn't had one since but it was just because they had both been so busy. They were planning on having one this upcoming Saturday. They had already become the talk of the office. Riley was always referred to as the pretty lawyer and Jake wasn't bad looking himself. Her female co-workers told her they wished they could be her but Riley would never wish that upon her worst enemy. She was getting better but she was still so broken. He didn't even know it but Jake was helping tremendously with her issues. She loved having somebody she could rely on to make her feel better. Not that she didn't have that in Lucas but her relationship with Jake was much different.

Speaking of Lucas, she hadn't talked to him since the night he asked her out. She felt bad she hadn't at least called him but then again, he didn't call her either. Maybe he realized he didn't feel the same way about Riley as he thought he did. Maybe he was just trying to figure everything out. Maybe, but hopefully not, he might have gone back to drinking. That would have been awful but it could have happened.

Riley didn't love Lucas like a boyfriend but she still cared about him tremendously. She figured she should check in on him and make sure everything was all right.

Riley was able to leave work early that night so she drove out to Lucas' apartment before heading home to hers first. She knocked on the door and he answered shortly afterwards, wearing a button down shirt and a dressy pair of jeans.

"Riley?" He said. "What are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to make sure you were all right." Riley said. "You didn't seem like you were in the best shape last time I saw you."

"Yeah, I'll be okay, thanks." Lucas replied. "I'm not drinking if that's what you're worried about."

"Okay, good." Riley said. "If you want to hang out night I've got some time to kill."

Lucas took a sharp inhale before continuing.

"Riley, I don't mean to be rude but now is really not a good time." Lucas said.

"Why?" Riley asked. "What's going-"

"Hey, Lucas," A female voice from inside Lucas' apartment called. "Where are your nice dinner bowls?"

"Oh, my-" Riley started, realizing exactly what was going on. "You have a girl in there?"

"Yeah, I'm kind of on a date right now." Lucas said.

"Oh, my god." Riley said again. "I'm so sorry I interrupted. I'll leave you alone. Have a good time."

"Thanks." Lucas said. "And Riley?"

"Yeah?" She responded.

"I'm free tomorrow night if you want to hang out." Lucas said.

"Tomorrow's Saturday." Riley said. "I'm seeing Jake tomorrow night. How about Sunday?"

"No, I have to go to a presentation with Dr. Downs all day Sunday in Baltimore." Lucas said. "I won't be home until late. Monday?"

"I have a late therapy session Monday." Riley said. "I was just planning on going home afterwards."

"Well, we'll figure something out." Lucas said.

"Yeah," Riley replied. "Have a good time."

Riley returned to her car and just sat behind the wheel for a good few minutes thinking about everything she now knew. She was dating a guy. She really liked this guy. Lucas was dating a girl. She loved Lucas like a best friend. She didn't know this girl, yet she didn't like her. Why didn't she like her? She thought it might be jealously but that would be ridiculous. You are only jealous of people who have what you want. This girl didn't have anything Riley wanted.

Except Lucas.

No. No, she was in a relationship with Jake. It was new but it was good so far. She shouldn't feel that way about another guy when she is perfectly happy with this guy. Besides, Lucas' is probably perfectly happy with this girl. Maybe one day she will go to their wedding and Lucas can come to hers. She always thought Lucas would be at her wedding but not as a guest, as a groom. Maybe that was just a naive thought she had back in middle school. Maybe he wasn't the one for her. Maybe he was. Maybe Jake was the one for her. Maybe he wasn't.

Riley didn't know anything except that she knew nothing.

* * *

 **AN: Okay, yeah I hated this chapter too. I'm sorry about that.**

 **Ever since I posted my last chapter, I have received so many brilliant ideas from you guys on what to do for this story. They are all things I've never thought about and I love them all. I can't promise I'm going to use every single one of them because they are kind of hard to incorporate into the story but I'll do my best.**

 **All right so I really want to hear from you guys again because I know what I want to happen next chapter I just don't know where I want it to happen. I want Riley and Lucas to talk about their new relationships with Jake and Lucas' new girlfriend but I don't know if I want them to do it in a comfortable place like Lucas' apartment or if I should just fly them up to New York in preparation for Maya and Josh's wedding and not have them talk until then. They aren't going to take their significant others to the wedding because Jake and Lucas' girlfriend have to work and they aren't quite that close yet so that obstacle won't be there. Anyway, tell me what you want to see and I'll do my best to update next weekend!**

 **Follow, favorite and review!**


	9. Deja Vu

The next few months seemed to drag by for Riley. She was having a great time with Jake but she missed Lucas' company. They tried to get together over the next few weeks but there always seemed to be some kind of conflict so they just gave up after a while. Maybe it was for the better but that wouldn't explain why time was dragging by for Riley. She would admit that she missed Lucas if somebody asked, but just the same way she missed a friend. She thought.

Time was hopefully going to go by much faster for the next couple of weeks. Today, Riley woke up bright and early to catch a flight to New York. Yes, Maya and Josh had chosen a date for their wedding and they decided before the baby was born. They had had their first appointment with their doctor a few days ago and according to Maya, she was almost three months in. She also said she wasn't showing so it appeared the bride would get her wish. However, Riley couldn't lie and say she wasn't hurt when Maya sent her that sonogram. The baby inside of her best friend looked exactly like the baby that had once been inside of her. However, it didn't hurt her as badly as she thought it would so there was really no need for her to contact Lucas.

Speak of the devil, she was finally going to spend time with him on this flight. Since he was going to have to be flying out of D.C. too, they figured they would just share a flight. Riley had asked Jake if he wanted to come but he said he was going to be busy with work. Riley didn't mind. After all, they had only been dating for a few months. It's not really like she was ready to introduce him to her family anyway. She assumed, or at least hoped, the same would go for Lucas. It would be awkward sharing a flight with Lucas and his new girlfriend.

Thankfully, when she arrived at the airport a few minutes later than what they had agreed on, she saw only Lucas standing by the terminal all by himself. She hoped some girl would not pop out of nowhere and claw all over him like he was a piece of meat. Fortunately, the only thing that happened was Lucas catching her eye and smiling before walking over to her.

"Hey," He said. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah," Riley replied. "Let's go."

Their way to the plane was as smooth as any flight to New York had ever been. They were lucky to get a direct connection from D.C. to New York. It wasn't a long flight but sometimes when Riley used to travel back to the city, she would have to take multiple pointless flights in between. Of course it had been years since she had flown to New York.

"This feels kind of weird, huh?" Lucas said after he took his seat next to her.

"You're telling me." Riley said. "When was the last time you were in New York?"

"About a year ago." Lucas said. "Josh proposed to Maya when they were still in New York. Did she ever tell you about that?"

"No, she didn't." Riley replied.

"Well, I usually don't fall for that cheesy, romantic stuff but I guess when it's two of my best friends it's really sweet." Lucas said. "He asked me to come out to the city and when I got there he said he was going to propose and wanted help finding the ring. We had dinner at your family's place. I was really only there for the last part. Your parents don't like me too much anymore."

"Yeah, I kind of figured." Riley said. "In their defense, I would be kind of mad at any guy who would talk to my daughter the way you talked to me the last time they saw us together."

"Kind of mad?" Lucas exclaimed. "Are you kidding? If you were my kid and some idiot talked to you that way, he probably wouldn't be alive."

"Well, I guess they assumed you only had a few years left anyway." Riley said.

"They weren't wrong." Lucas replied. "I feel awful that I ever went down that path."

Lucas hung his head low. It was then Riley realized his drinking problem was just like her miscarriage. It was something that became out of their control and they hated that this was a part of their past. We all had scars though, didn't we?

"It's okay, Lucas." Riley said, placing a hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her as she did this. She felt a small spark when he looked at her that way. It used to make her feel incredible but now it just made her uncomfortable. She was with another guy. A guy she really, really liked.

"So how did Josh propose?" Riley decided to ask.

"Oh, um, well he did it after dinner." Lucas said. "It wasn't perfect, but in a way it kind of was. He tripped down the step from your parents' dinning room to the living room and landed on one knee. I knew it wasn't what he planned, but I guess he saw an opportunity and took it."

"So he asked her right there?" Riley asked.

"Yep." Lucas replied. "Yeah, then she told him she was moving to LA and he said he'd go with her. He gave a sweet, impromptu speech. Very moving."

"Wow, that sounds beautiful." Riley said.

"It was." Lucas replied. "So, when was the last time you've been to New York?"

"Um… six years ago." Riley responded, hesitantly. "When I saw you there."

"Oh." Lucas responded.

"Yeah, I um…" Riley trailed off debating whether or not to tell him the truth. She figured he saw right through her anyway. "I tried to put that whole meeting behind me. It wasn't either of our brightest moments so I forgot that you told me you were living in California. I knew you were a bit stubborn when it came to righting your wrongs so I thought you would show up somewhere and beg for my forgiveness. I wasn't ready to forgive you so I didn't go back."

"Have you forgiven me now?" Lucas asked.

"Yes, of course." Riley responded. "I thought you knew that."

"I guess I did." Lucas said. "It's just good to hear."

The rest of the flight was spent in relative silence. The topic of boyfriends and girlfriends did come up. Riley told Lucas she was still with Jake but he wasn't coming with her to the wedding because they weren't that serious yet. However, she did tell him that things were going well between the two of them and she couldn't wait for what the future held.

"Well, I for one, am happy for you Riley." Lucas said.

"Thank you." Riley replied. "So what about you and your girlfriend? How are you guys doing?"

"Girlfriend?" Lucas seemed confused. "Oh, you mean Avery?"

So Avery was the tramp's name. Wait, what? Why would Riley think that about some innocent girl she had never even met before? Avery was probably a nice girl. Maybe she and Jake and Avery and Lucas could go on a double date together sometime. That is if Avery was his girlfriend. Maybe she was his cousin. God, that would be so embarrassing.

"Yeah, I think so." Riley answered.

"Yeah, we aren't together." Lucas said. "We went on that one date and decided there wasn't really any chemistry."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Riley said.

"It's fine." Lucas replied. "Besides, I'm still fairly new in Washington. I still need a little more time to settle in."

"Yeah, I understand that." Riley said.

Just then, the pilot announced that they would be landing in New York in about ten minutes. Riley and Lucas started packing up all of their luggage they had on the plane so they could make a fairly quick exit.

Soon, they had made their way through the terminal all the way to the front of the airport. They were expecting to have to hail a cab and go to the Matthews' apartment or the Hunter-Hart's apartment. However, they were pleasantly surprised to see Maya and Josh standing outside the airport waiting for them by their car.

"Hey, what a surprise!" Riley exclaimed as she threw her arms around her childhood best friend.

"Yeah, we thought you guys weren't going to make it." Lucas said.

"Yeah, we weren't planning on it but our folks are driving us crazy." Josh said.

"Yeah, we know they mean well but we do want to have a few moments to ourselves, you know?" Maya said.

"Which is why we left." Josh announced.

"Left?" Riley asked.

"As in eloping?" Lucas said.

"Oh, no," Maya quickly chimed in. "We just escaped a morning wedding meeting with Josh's mom. I don't know why we still need to have those. They were helpful in the beginning but now all the important stuff is already decided."

"Anyway," Josh interrupted his fiancée. "We just thought a night in upstate New York would be a good relief. Are you guys game?"

"Yeah," Riley responded almost immediately. "I haven't been there since college."

All of a sudden, everything started to sink in. The last time she had been to upstate New York she had been at the ultimate low point in her life. She had just lost her son and she could barely get out of bed most days. She had made the mistake of leaving Lucas behind and not just ruining her own life, but his as well. It took them both years to pull out of it. She had some really wonderful memories from their time in grad school but that one, horrible memory was going to be looming in her mind for the entire time she was there.

"Great, let's go!" Maya exclaimed, both she and Josh seemingly oblivious to Riley's sudden mood change. Lucas, however, was not as easily fooled.

"Hey," He said gently as he tugged on her arm and Maya and Josh got in the car. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Riley lied. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, it's just the last time we were in upstate New York…" Lucas trailed off.

"I know," Riley said. "But as long as I don't think about it, I think it will be all right. Will you be okay?"

"Yeah," Lucas replied. "Just… don't leave me alone, wherever we are going. I don't mean to make you the tough one but you know I'm not completely healed either, right?"

"I figured it out after a while." Riley said. "And I won't leave you if you don't leave me."

"Hey!" Maya exclaimed from the car. "Are you lovebirds coming or not?"

"Yeah, coming." Riley and Lucas chorused as they fell out of their trance. It was extremely important that they had that conversation though.

The foursome's ride to upstate was filled with talk about their lives since the four of them had last talked and some fun memories they all shared. They even got to talking about Maya and Josh's baby. Riley was handling the situation much better than she thought she would have. Although she wasn't looking at him the entire time, Lucas kept his eyes locked on Riley whenever they were talking about the baby, just in case she broke down at some point. Luckily for the two of them, Riley was able to hold herself together. She was immensely thankful for therapy at this point. If it wasn't for that, she would probably be crying her eyes out right now. Yes, all seemed to be going well up until about twenty or so minutes out of town, Maya grimaced in pain.

"Maya," Josh said, his face turning white. "Are you two all right?"

"Yeah," She responded, catching her breath. "Just a cramp."

"If you say so." Josh replied, seemingly brushing it off.

"Are you sure?" Riley chimed in. "Because sometimes it's early signs of miscarriage."

"Riley!" Josh exclaimed.

"Riley." Lucas warned.

Maya's face had gone blank.

"Well, it is!" Riley said. "Did you know that, Maya?"

"Yes, I did, Riley." Maya answered weakly.

"Well, then excuse me for thinking of my best friend and my uncle." Riley said as she flopped back against the seat.

The rest of the short car ride was silent. The second Josh put the car in park, Maya pushed her door open, slammed it shut and ran inside to their cabin, Josh quickly following.

"Thanks a lot, Riley." He said sarcastically as he slammed his door behind him.

It wasn't until then Riley realized that she may have overreacted. Pregnant women did get cramps often. She got them quite a bit when she was pregnant. She did miscarry but she still knew it was a common thing, even in the first trimester. Riley felt the tears start to flow for many reasons. Fear, reminiscing, but mostly, guilt.

"Hey, hey, it's okay." She heard Lucas say once they were alone. He quickly pulled her close to him and she couldn't resit. She could be as mad at him as she possibly could but the second babies or pregnancies were brought up, she would fall for him as fast as she could.

"No, it's not okay!" Riley exclaimed. "I just told my best friend that she would lose her baby just because she's having a cramp. Just because I'm scared for her doesn't mean she needs to be."

"I know," Lucas said, still just as cool and calm as ever. "But she doesn't know about us. You have every right to be nervous about this."

"I should still apologize." Riley said. "I never wanted to make her feel that way."

"I know you didn't." Lucas said.

They stayed in the car for a few more minutes until they heard a tap on the glass by Lucas' door. It was Josh and he looked frantic.

"Lucas!" He exclaimed. "Can you please help me with Maya? Something's wrong."

Riley sprung off of Lucas and started wiping her tears to let him know she was all right and he left the car to go with Josh. Once they were gone, Riley let even more tears slip out. She thought about how horrible she would feel if it turned out Maya was having a miscarriage. She thought about how horrible Maya and Josh would feel if they had a miscarriage. She could certainly relate and would not wish that upon her worst enemy, let alone her best friend and uncle. She thought about waking up early that horrible morning to blood stained sheets. She thought about their doctor, Dr. Conners if she remembered correctly, walking back into her emergency room and telling her and Lucas they had lost their baby. It was all a horrible feeling of fear and she hated it.

Eventually, the guys got Maya into the car and Riley had calmed herself down enough as to not take any of the attention away from Maya. They rode in silence, with the exception of Maya's occasional grunts and groans and Josh quietly mumbling everything would be all right. If Riley had a clear head on, she would probably be concerned for her safety since Josh was driving like a manic. She understood why he was doing it though. Lucas wasn't exactly driving calm the night they lost their baby.

This all just felt like a strange sense of deja vu.

Finally, they all arrived at the nearest emergency room. Riley was forced to tell the woman behind the desk why they were there. Once she was made aware of the situation, Maya and Josh were rushed into a room while Riley and Lucas waited for their tests to conclude. They didn't say a word because Riley could tell that this whole process was just as nerve wrecking for Lucas as it was for her. Everything had to be okay with Maya and their baby, otherwise it would feel like they were going to have to start all over again. That would have sucked because Riley finally felt like she was coming to terms with everything and she knew Lucas was as good as he had ever been right now too.

"Riley Matthews and Lucas Friar?" They heard a nurse call. They both stood up and met her at the beginning of the hallway they had last seen Maya and Josh go down.

"We have just completed all of the tests on your friend Ms. Hart." She informed them. "So far everything seems normal but we are still waiting for a few items to come back from the lab. The doctor will be back with them once all of those test's results are made available. Until then, you are more than welcome to go back to their room if you would like."

"Thank you very much." Lucas answered as the nurse walked off.

"Do you want to go back there?" Lucas asked.

"I suppose it would make me feel better." Riley answered in a tiny voice.

The two went back to their friends' hospital room to find Maya and Josh resting very easy, although they seemed to tense up once they realized Riley was with Lucas. She couldn't blame them.

"Hey, the nurse told us that the tests have been fine so far." Lucas said. "How are you feeling?" He asked Maya.

"I'm okay, now." Maya replied. "Just a little anxious."

"The doctor said it could have been stress induced." Josh replied, tensely. "He asked if she had received any disturbing news lately."

Josh was now staring daggers to Riley. A look she never thought she would see from her young, vibrant uncle.

"I-I'm so sorry, Maya." Riley said. "I didn't mean to cause this."

"You didn't cause this." Lucas told Riley.

"She might have!" Josh exclaimed.

"But she probably didn't!" Lucas said. "Do you know how much stress a pregnant woman has to be under to feel that amount of cramps? A lot more than Riley put on Maya, that's for sure."

"What makes you so sure, Huckleberry?" Maya chimed in. "You're a vet. You take care of animals, not people."

"I had to study with people when I was working on my doctorate." Lucas said. "I know a few things."

"Yeah, well this doctor went to school for four years for people so I think he know what he is talking about." Josh said.

"Hey, Lucas is very smart and he could be right." Riley defended.

"God, I can't take it anymore!" Maya exclaimed, silencing everyone in a second. "What's the big secret you two are keeping!?"

"W-what secret?" Riley surprisingly found her voice first.

"The secret we all know you have." Josh replied. "We don't know what it is but the entire family thinks it's why Riley moved to Washington so abruptly, why she hardly comes to New York anymore, why Lucas started drinking and why you two broke up in the first place."

The room was silent for about ten seconds when they heard a knock on the wooden door. As soon as it opened, Riley's heart stopped and she was sure Lucas' did too.

It was Maya and Josh's doctor for the time being. He was a middle aged man, tall with brown hair and flakes of grey in it too. He looked like he was in decent shape and he looked like a nice guy but the last time Riley and Lucas had seen him, he had delivered the news that ruined their lives.

"Hello again, Mr. Matthews and Ms. Hart." Dr. Conners said with a warm smile on his face. "We have gotten all the results of the tests back and it looks like everything is great. It must have just been some severe cramps you were having, which is completely normal. However, it was the right thing to come in just to make sure everything was all right. We would like to keep you here for just a couple more hours to make sure everything remains normal but you should be fine. Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy."

Everything would have been fine if Dr. Conners hadn't noticed Riley and Lucas standing in the corner and remembered who they were.

"Have I met you two before?" Dr. Conners asked. Before either of them could say no, he remembered exactly who they were. "Oh, right, weren't you both students at Cornell a few years back?"

"Um yes," Riley answered. "I'm Riley Matthews and this is Lucas Friar."

"Oh, right, Baby Boy Friar." Dr. Conners said. "Yes, he would have been great. I trust you two are doing well though?"

"Yes, we are fine now." Lucas replied.

"Well, it was good to see you two again and best of luck to you two as well, Ms. Hart and Mr. Matthews." Dr. Conners said before exiting the room.

The silence that filled the room after Dr. Conners left was the worst any of them had ever felt. A good ten minutes must have gone by before Maya spoke up.

"Can I talk to Riley? Alone?" Maya asked. Riley gave a small nod and Lucas and Josh left the room. Riley took the seat beside Maya's bed that Josh once occupied.

"Just so you know," Riley said trying to hold back tears yet again. "Nobody besides Lucas and I and well, Dr. Conners knows about this. Not even my parents. I haven't talked to anybody about this except Lucas so is there anyway you can just ask 'yes' or 'no' questions?"

"Okay," Maya replied after a brief moment of silence. "I'll try."

"When Josh and I came over that time around Halloween and you thought you were pregnant, you said you couldn't find a good time to book that appointment to confirm it but you did, didn't you?" Maya asked.

Riley nodded.

"And your doctor told you you were pregnant?"

Riley nodded again.

"And then you… miscarried?" Maya was nearly whispering at the end.

Riley nodded as she choked back a sob.

"In this very hospital, actually." Riley answered. "I didn't handle it well. I broke up with Lucas and moved to Washington. That caused Lucas to drink and now we are both healing but it's something that's a part of us and it's something we were terrified was going to happen to you and Josh today."

Maya held her arms out of Riley to hug her and Riley returned the favor. She was a bit surprised at how strongly Maya was holding Riley to her but she didn't question it and held her back just as tight. Soon, both girls were crying into each other's shoulders.

"I'm so sorry." Maya said at one point.

"It wasn't your fault, peaches." Riley reassured her. "It wasn't anybody's. It just happened."

"Still, I hate that it happened to someone as sweet and innocent as you." Maya said.

"I'm not perfect, Maya." Riley said.

"I never said you were." Maya responded. "But you didn't deserve that. Neither of you did."

* * *

 **AN: Hey guys! I'm sorry I'm absolute garbage. I couldn't decide where I wanted to go with this chapter and as you can see, it's a very, very important one that I couldn't screw up (hopefully I didn't!). Anyway, it's super long but even if it's not long enough for you, I am planning on adding one chapter tomorrow and one chapter Sunday! That's right three chapters in one week! Hopefully, that will kind of make up for time lost in between.**

 **Another warning is I think this story is going to go from Teen to Mature very soon. I can't say that it will be the next chapter (probably not) or the following or anything like that but the rating will be going up. I think I'm going to write a sex scene in here somewhere (I'm not going to say between who but I don't think you'll completely hate it) so that's why I have to up the rating. Just in case you are a guest user and look for this story in the update list and it suddenly disappears, I'm probably not on another three week hiatus again, I just changed the rating. To view a M rated story on the list of GMW stories go to the top of your page if you are on the desktop version (bottom if you are on your phone) and change the rating from K-T to All or M and you should be able to view it. Just letting you know ahead of time.**

 **Thank you guys for sticking around! I'll do my best not to disappoint!**

 **Follow, favorite and review!**


	10. What is your Scariest Moment?

Josh and Lucas exited the hospital room per Maya's request. Riley and Maya had always shared a special bond, even though that bond hadn't been in use for a while. It was rare for one of them to keep a secret from the other, especially for this long. It was something they needed to talk about. Sure, Josh and Maya were going to get married and Riley and Lucas were as close as two platonic friends could be, but they weren't Riley and Maya. Nobody was.

"So…" Josh started, not knowing what he should say. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I don't know." Lucas answered, honestly. "I haven't really talked about it in a while."

"You and Riley don't talk about it?" Josh asked.

"She does, most of the time." Lucas said. "She's just now starting to heal. I'm at a point where I can tolerate it."

"So, this is what brought up the drinking?" Josh asked after another moment of silence.

"Yep," Lucas said. "I was just doing what I'm sure you're doing right now; imagining special moments with your kid. Riley and I thought it was such a sure thing but then she miscarried and we fell apart. I don't blame her but if she didn't go to Washington and just stayed until we figured everything out, I think we both would have been healthier. I needed her and she needed me.

"I just remember thinking 'I wish there was a way I could forget about them.'" Lucas continued. "So I got drunk and I forgot for a night. And then I got drunk the next night and I forgot again. So I kept getting drunk until I would forget and I always felt so awful because they were the last image in my mind before I blacked out.

"I didn't know of any other way to forget. Then, I saw her and I was a complete ass to her. I knew I went too far and I got help. Now, here we are." Lucas finished.

The two men were silent for a while, neither quite knowing what to say. The fact that this had happened to one of Josh's best friends and his niece shocked him. They were the lucky ones. They were the ones nothing had ever happened to. He supposed it was unfair to assume that. Six years ago, it was hard to keep Riley and Lucas off of each other. There was no way they just got tired of each other. There had to have been some serious reason why they broke up but he just never thought it would have been this.

"I'm so sorry, man." Josh told Lucas. "I had no idea."

"There's no way you could have known." Lucas said. "It was something we wanted to keep between us. It turns out its not all that healthy."

"Maybe not." Josh responded. "So, does anybody else know?"

"No," Lucas responded. "Not even her parents."

"Wow, that's some pretty heavy stuff." Josh said.

"You're telling me." Lucas replied.

Silence once again fell through the hallways with the occasional beeping from the machines in other rooms. Sensing the conversation was over and the moment had passed, Josh saw the opportunity to leave Lucas alone with Riley. They probably needed to talk about this.

"I'm going to go check on Maya." Josh said. Lucas gave him a nod as he stood up from the ground.

Josh entered Maya's room and only about a minute later did Riley exit as well. Her eyes were big, red and puffy and her nose was stuffed up. It was obvious she had been crying with Maya about the situation but Lucas wasn't exactly feeling like he could do a cheer right then either. He stood up and walked over to her as soon as he noticed her.

"Hey." He said first.

"Hi." She repeated.

"How's Maya?" Lucas asked after a small moment of silence.

"She's doing better." Riley said. "She understands why I acted the way I did now."

"That's good." Lucas replied.

"Yeah," Riley said. "How's Josh?"

"He's jittery and nervous." Lucas said. "But I think he understands too."

"Good." Riley said.

There was another moment of silence and Lucas was about to ask Riley if she wanted to leave when she chimed in.

"This place is so strange, isn't it?" Riley said.

"Strange?" Lucas asked. "How do you figure that?"

"Well, in one of my more recent sessions, my therapist said I should try to focus on all the good things I have in life and on all the good moments I had with… him." Riley said.

"We found out we miscarried in a room down there." Riley said as she pointed down the long hallway. "But we found out we were going to have a baby in a room up there." She continued this time pointing directly above them. "We first heard him up there. I mean, we made a baby, Lucas. Do you know how beautiful that is? I mean, everyday I wish he was here with us but the fact that we did it alone is pretty incredible."

"I know you probably don't want to hear me say this, but you're amazing." Lucas chuckled.

"Why would I not want to hear that?" Riley asked.

"I… well, I didn't want to make you uncomfortable." Lucas said.

"I'm not uncomfortable." Riley said. "You can tell me that any time."

Lucas just had to hug her then. He really wanted to kiss her but he knew that it was better for him not to. Riley had a boyfriend, one that she seemed to like a lot and he didn't want to jeopardize that. As long as they were friends, he would be fine.

"I did want to talk to you about something, though." Riley mumbled into his shoulder.

"Okay." Lucas replied as he backed out of the hug. "What is it?"

"Well, if it's okay with you, I think I want to tell my parents about the baby." Riley said.

"Really?" Lucas said after a while. "What brought that on?"

"When Josh and Maya found out, I just felt like this huge weight had been lifted off of my chest." Riley said. "It felt good that they knew. And my parents aren't exactly your biggest fans. Not since the last time they saw you."

"Okay, you're right." Lucas replied. "So when do you want to tell them?"

"Not any time soon." Riley said. "This was hard enough, I don't think I could do two confessions in one night. Just the next time we see them and the timing seems right."

"Okay." Lucas said. "I'm all right with that."

"Good." Riley replied. "I'm so happy you're here, Lucas. I don't know what I would do without you."

"Oh, well, most of this progress has been you." Lucas replied.

"Yeah but it hasn't been easy." Riley said. "Just… thank you for being there."

"Of course." Lucas said. "What are friends for?"

* * *

Riley, Maya, Josh and Lucas all returned to the cabin later that day. It turned out to be a good, needed break for all of them. Maya and Josh were of course stressed about their wedding plans, traveling and now their impending parenthood but Riley and Lucas hadn't exactly had easy weeks leading into this one.

At around midnight, the gang decided to start up a wonderful game of Truth or Dare. They used to play this all the time in college, usually always picking dare and having to do something absolutely insane. Since they were all older now, they toned back the dares but they were still just as fun. One dare had Josh drinking some horrible combination of liquor Riley and Lucas had found downstairs. Another saw Riley jumping into the freezing cold lake with all of her clothes on and playing the remainder of the game in her soaking clothes, although Lucas graciously gave her his jacket when she started trembling on the couch beside him.

"All right, my turn." Maya exclaimed after a truth that had her admitting to making out with Farkle after her twenty- first birthday party. "Um, Lucas!" She decided. "Truth or Dare?"

"Oh, with you?" Lucas questioned. "Definitely truth."

"All right." Maya responded. "What was the scariest moment of your life?"

Maya expected his answer to be more along the lines of a time he was trick or treating when he was little and some dumb teenager in a scary mask jumped out from behind a corner and scared him. The game always had a light heartedness about it anyway. But Lucas decided to answer honestly which was more dark than anybody thought.

"Honestly?" He wanted to confirm and got a nod from Maya. "The scariest moment of my life was when Riley and I were at Cornell. We had just found out she was pregnant and we were pretty distant from each other. One night, I'm sleeping and I feel somebody shaking me and calling my name. It was Riley and she looked so… helpless. Like a stray puppy stuck in the rain. That's when I knew it was over. That was the scariest moment of my life."

The room was silent for a long time after that. All the warm and light air that had filled it before had just been sucked out and replaced with an air colder than Riley's damp clothes. That wasn't what anybody thought he was going to say, not even Riley. Lucas knew he had ruined the game for them but that was okay because he honestly didn't want to play anymore. For the first time in a very long time, he wanted to throw back a million bottles of the hardest liquor in the entire world because that memory was the only thing that was playing through his mind. Just the memory of being slightly disorientated. The memory of Riley's desperate shaking and her loud voice, straining to call his name. The memory of finally being fully aware of everything and Riley's horribly frightened puppy dog eyes staring at him through the darkness. The memory of her hopelessly saying 'I'm bleeding'. She relied fully on him to spring into action and he didn't do anything right away.

"I think I'm going to call it a night." Lucas mumbled into his hand as he practically ran back to his bedroom.

Riley looked at the stunned couple on the couch across from her. They seemed to be just as frozen as she was when she finally came out of the lake.

"I'm going to go talk to him." Riley said. "If I don't see you before you guys go to bed, then have a good night."

"Okay, you too." Maya replied.

Riley walked down the hall until she reached Lucas' room and lightly knocked on his door.

"Lucas?" She asked. "Can I come in, please?"

Riley waited a few seconds before the door opened. She was pulled in and the door was closed before she even knew what was going on. She found herself standing on the rug in the middle of the room and Lucas close to the door looking almost insane.

"Why did I do that?" He was muttered while grabbing his head with both fists. "Why the hell did I do that?!"

Lucas turned around and slammed both of his fists on the wall behind him. Riley was stunned to see him this way. She thought this wouldn't affect him nearly this much. She had no idea what to do or what he needed her to do so she just stood there and waited, hoping he would give her instructions.

"Now that memory is all I see." Lucas said turning back around. "You remember what I'm talking about, right?"

"Yeah, I-I do." Riley said. "That's not exactly my favorite memory either."

"I just… I just want to go downstairs and have a drink… or two." Lucas said.

Thinking fast, Riley ran to the door in front of him, doing her best to block him from leaving the room and going downstairs.

"No! Lucas you know you can't." Riley said. "You've done so well over the past four years. Don't give that up."

Lucas held his stance for a moment and they hung his head in defeat, which happened to land right on Riley's shoulder. She grabbed him by his neck and pulled him into a hug. It didn't take long for the waterworks to start and soon Lucas was crying into her shoulder while holding her waist for dear life.

Riley did her best not to think of the memory Lucas had just described but it was a memory that would always be so painfully vivd to her. She remembered waking up with a huge pain in her stomach. She remembered thinking it was just a cramp. She remembered seeing the pool of blood around her thighs, tricking down the rest of her legs. She remembered feeling more terrified than she had ever felt before. If Maya had asked her than question, she would have answered with the exact same thing.

"Of course I remember that." Riley finally said, more choked up than she was anticipating. "I hate that memory."

Lucas pulled back and looked her in the eyes. Red, puffy eyes met red, puffy eyes. This was another moment they would remember vividly but in a different kind of way.

"I remember the way you looked at me." Lucas said. "You-you were so helpless. There was nothing you could have done. But I just sat there like an idiot. If I had moved faster maybe-"

"No, no, no!" Riley shouted, banging her fists into his rock hard shoulders for emphasis. "No, this is not your fault. It didn't matter if you had gotten up right away or did nothing, it was going to happen."

"You don't know-" Lucas started but Riley interrupted again.

"You're the doctor!" Riley exclaimed. "You know this stuff. Think with your brain and not your heart on this one. Would it have mattered?"

"No," Lucas answered after a minute. "No, I don't think it would have."

"You were, are and will always be there for me, I don't doubt that." Riley said. "But you can't prevent stuff like that."

"I love you." Lucas said.

"I love you, too." Riley responded.

"I have for a long time." Lucas continued. "I never stopped."

"I know." Riley said. "Me too."

"Then, please forgive me." Lucas said as he quickly moved his left hand from Riley's waist to the back of her neck and pulling her lips to his. He knew it was wrong. He knew she had a boyfriend. He knew she might push him away and never speak to him again but this was one of those things that he couldn't prevent.

Riley was surprised by the kiss at first but it only took a second to completely melt into him. She loved him and he could make her feel like nobody else could. Except Jake. But sometimes, even Jake's best couldn't compare to Lucas' worst. A part of her was screaming that Lucas has always been the one for her. A part of her was screaming that she and Lucas had tried and it had been amazing but it didn't work. Maybe now Jake was the one for her. It was all so confusing and she just wished the answer could be much more clear.

They eventually both backed out of the kiss they didn't realize they needed.

"Sorry." Lucas said with the best boyish charm he could muster.

"It's okay." Riley replied. "Just… If you happen to see Jake, or anybody for that matter, don't tell them about this."

"I promise." Lucas said. "I just need you sometimes."

"Believe me, I understand that." Riley replied.

Silence fell over the couple once again. Lucas still had his right hand securely on Riley's waist, left hand on the back of her neck while both of Riley's hands were placed on Lucas' shoulders. It wouldn't have taken much effort for them to kiss again.

"I think I'm going to shower and then go to bed." Riley said. "It's been a long day."

"Okay." Lucas replied. "Is there anyway you could stay with me tonight?"

"What do you need me for?" Riley asked.

"Just to keep me sane." Lucas said. "I think I'll be okay but you never know."

"Yeah, I understand." Riley responded. "Would there be anymore kissing?"

"Not unless you want there to be." Lucas responded.

"Okay, good." Riley said. "I'll stay."

"Thank you so much, Riley." Lucas replied as Riley finally walked out of his embrace and headed for the door.

"What are friends for?" Riley responded.

* * *

"Those two really love each other." Maya said aloud as she and Josh were getting ready for bed.

"You think?" Josh asked.

"I know." Maya said. "I just don't know what's stopping them."

"Well, Riley did mention she was seeing someone." Josh replied.

"Yeah, but Riley always pushed for you and I to go out. At least when it made sense." Maya replied. "I want to do the same for them."

"Oh, no." Josh sighed. "Maya, please don't meddle in their lives. They are humans who have been through enough pain."

"I'm not meddling, I'm just pushing." Maya said. "I can do Riley. Will you help Lucas?"

"How am I supposed to do that?" Josh asked.

"I think I have a plan."

* * *

 **AN: Hey guys! So I'm really sorry I fell through on that promise for three new chapters. School got crazy and life got crazy. But here's the good news: I'M ON SPRING BREAK! WOO! So that means lots and lots of updates! (hopefully!)**

 **Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I made time to watch Fuller House this week and I realized as I was writing this that Riley's situation is almost kind of like D.J.'s in that show. She's got one guy that basically represents her future and one that was her first love and represents her past (btw, who else DIED when they showed the prom scene in the episode Steve and Matt were fighting over D.J.?! GAH! I love them so much!) I also want to know, what team are you on if you watch Fuller House as well, Team Matt or Team Steve? I'm Team Steve all the way!**

 **I think next chapter will have a moment where Riley and Lucas tell Cory and Topanga about the baby. Following chapter I'm planning on having the wedding and then all hell's going to break loose! It's going to be fun!**

 **Follow, favorite and review!**


	11. Grandparents

When Riley woke up the next morning, she thought she was in a dream. Lucas was laying slightly above her with his mouth opened, his cheeks still red from the night before. It wasn't an easy night for either of them though. She supposed she looked similar to him. She was well past the days of caring what she looked like in front of him. He had seen her at her absolute worst so she didn't need to look like a supermodel all the time around him. Still, she figured she should get up and shower while she still had the chance. Maya and Josh were probably still asleep anyway.

After gently crawling out of bed, Riley walked to the one bathroom in the cabin to shower when she heard a loud noise coming out of the bathroom. She figured it would be safe to knock at least. If somebody didn't want her there, they would tell her so. There was no response but the door squeaked open to Maya Hart throwing her guts up in the toilet. Morning sickness. Riley remembered it and remembered how horrible it was.

"Hey." Riley said softly but loud enough so Maya would hear her.

"Hi." Maya responded once she realized her best friend was standing in front of her. "Did you need to use the bathroom?"

"Only to shower." Riley responded. "You can take your time."

"Okay, good." Maya replied. "Hopefully I'll be done soon."

"Do you want me to leave or-" Riley started.

"No, stay." Maya said. "If you don't mind. I'm used to Josh staying in here with me but we all had a pretty big day yesterday. I didn't want to wake him up."

"Yeah, I understand." Riley replied.

"So, was it this bad for you?" Maya asked after she had leaned herself up against the cool, tile wall.

"Morning sickness?" Riley asked and Maya nodded. "No, not really. I barely threw up, although I was nauseous all the time."

"Do you think it had anything to do with… you know?" Maya asked.

"Maybe." Riley answered. "I'm not really sure. We had a few follow up appointments after I miscarried just to make sure everything was okay."

"Really?" Maya asked. "Did they find anything?"

"No," Riley responded. "They assured me that it wasn't my fault, although that was hard to believe at the time. Anyway, they did a bunch of tests and they think it was just an accident and I should be able to have kids some day."

"Do you still want kids?" Maya asked.

"I don't know." Riley responded. "I mean I'm not running out to get a hysterectomy or anything but there's nothing saying that another miscarriage isn't going to happen to me and it was so hard to deal with last time, I don't know if I handle that happening again. I'm seeing a guy from work but we aren't even close to talking about kids. And I am in my thirties. My childbearing years are close to over."

"Please," Maya scoffed. "Women have babies into their forties. You've got plenty of time."

"Yeah, but not as much as I used to have." Riley said. "I really can't afford to fool around right now if I want to have a family in the near future."

"That's true." Maya said. "I think it would be a little weird if you were bouncing from club to club right now."

"Yeah, that is weird." Riley responded.

"So how are you and Lucas getting along?" Maya asked.

"We're good." Riley said.

"Just good?" Maya responded.

"Yeah," Riley said. "We're really good friends."

"That's it?" Maya asked.

"Do you think I'd be seeing somebody else if I thought there was something going on between us?" Riley shot back.

"I doubt it." Maya responded. "But still, you haven't always been the best at realizing your feelings."

"I know but I just know there isn't anything between me and Lucas except friendship." Riley replied. "But if you want to keep talking about this, I'm probably just going to wait in my room."

"No, you can shower now." Maya responded. "I think I'm done for now but don't be surprised if I come running back in here."

"Are you sure?" Riley asked.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." Maya said. "Just keep the door unlocked."

"No problem." Riley responded.

Lucas woke up alone. At first he wondered what had happened to Riley but once he caught sight of the clock, he figured she had already woken up. It made sense because the moment her head hit the pillow, she was out like a light. However, Lucas stayed up fairly late thinking about many things. The one particular topic that kept running through his mind was Riley's decision to tell her parents about the baby. He agreed that they deserved to know but he wasn't sure he felt comfortable enough to be there with her. The last time he had seen her parents, it had not gone well. They obviously knew he was coming since he played one of the most important parts in this wedding but he couldn't imagine how they must feel about him. If Lucas had a daughter that was treated the way Riley was by some drunken idiot, he probably would have killed him. Even if he hadn't, if he ever saw him again, even if it was just on the streets, he would kill him. If he had a son who treated a girl like that, he would be ashamed. He never believed that Riley's parents would forgive him for what he did to their little girl so he didn't want to go. He would go if Riley needed him, but it wasn't something he wanted to do.

He begrudgingly rolled himself out of his bed and walked out of the room only to run straight into Riley herself. She had one of the forest green towels wrapped around her body and her hair was dripping wet.

"Hi," Lucas said as he tried to keep this situation from getting awkward.

"Hey," Riley replied with the same waver in her voice had a moment ago. "Um, shower's free."

"Okay, great," Lucas said as he allowed Riley to move past him to get dressed. He was going to let her get ready before he talked to her about this but he suddenly couldn't wait any longer.

"Hey, Riles?" Lucas asked.

"What's up?" Riley replied as she turned around on the oak wood floors.

"Um, I just wanted to talk to you about this whole telling your parents about the baby thing." Lucas said.

"You don't want to do it." Riley said. It wasn't a question, it was a statement and she was right. Lucas was still blown away by how well she knew him. It was like she was able to read his mind.

"It's not that I don't want to." Lucas tried to say. "I think they deserve to know, it's just I'm not really their favorite person right now."

Riley simply nodded before responding.

"It's all right. I understand." She responded. "I can do it by myself."

"Are you sure?" Lucas confirmed.

"Yes, I'll be fine, thanks." Riley responded.

"Okay." Lucas said. "I'll probably be here doing nothing all day so just call me if you change your mind. Thank you."

"Of course, no problem."

* * *

Maya's bridal shower was later that afternoon at the Matthews' apartment. As nice as Katy and Shawn's apartment was, Cory and Topnaga's place always felt like home to both girls. Maya made the decision to have the shower there a long time ago and that just made it even more convenient for Riley. They both deserved to know about the baby. She and Lucas had waited long enough to tell anybody, really. Now that Maya and Josh knew, they would probably let it slip to somebody at some point. Riley really wanted to be the one to tell her parents though. It would have seemed like a cheap rumor if they had heard it from Maya or Josh. It would be the truth if she told them.

The shower seemed to fly by. It's funny how quickly time goes by when you aren't looking forward to something. There were no problems and everybody seemed to put on a happy face for Maya. It really was a happy occasion and it was very classy and elegant. Maya enjoyed every ounce of it but in what seemed like two minutes, Riley went from sipping on a glass of white wine to wiping down the tablecloths and folding the chairs they had used for the party. She no longer had Maya or any of her friends to distract her from how she would tell her parents about the baby. To be honest, they weren't doing a great job of that anyway. She thought about how she would bring it up. Should she just blurt it out? No, that would be too intense. Should she make a reference to a historical event, the same way her father once taught her and her friends about life and history at the same time? No, she had not been in a history class in years. Although she knew some major events, she couldn't seem to find a way to relate it back to her situation. She would find a way though.

One thing she was absolutely certain of was she had to make Lucas sound like an angel. It wouldn't be that hard though. He always thought he was one of the worst human beings alive because of his past. Riley always thought that made him a much stronger person. She knew that the reason they were in this situation was because of her actions. She left him when he needed her and, quite frankly, she left him when she needed him. They just dealt with it in different ways.

"Well, I'm probably going to start dinner soon." Topanga announced. "Riley, don't you and Maya have dinner plans?"

"Um, yeah." Riley responded. It was now or never. "But actually, I was wondering if I could talk to you and dad about something first."

* * *

Lucas showered, dressed and returned to his temporary bed. He was the last one to get a shower in since Maya ran into the bathroom with another bout of morning sickness before he could get in. Maya then preceded to take her second shower of the morning and Josh followed. By the time they were done, it was around noon and Riley and Maya were already walking out the door. He had been laying here thinking about Riley and what she must be going through. He had been laying there wondering if he had made the right decision.

Could Riley really do this alone? Yes, she was without a doubt the most incredible woman he had ever met but she was stubborn. It took a lot for her to admit when she needed help. She always put others needs before her own. Regardless if she needed him there or not, if he didn't feel comfortable approaching her parents, she would go without him. She had lied to him and many others in this way before so it wouldn't surprise him if she did it again. He wondered if she would be okay.

Or worse, what if Riley decided to glorify him since she went alone? They both made mistakes in this ordeal but nobody ever told him he had to be drunk all the time. Nobody told him he had to treat her like shit when he saw her. He made mistakes and she would probably defend them for forever. Like he said earlier, she was stubborn and if she believed in something, she would make sure everybody knew and probably change your original opinion in the process.

It only took him a few moments to realize there was only one way to find out if she was all right or if she was making him look like a saint. He hopped out of bed, grabbed his jacket and drove to the apartment he had been avoiding for the past four years.

* * *

"I just wanted you guys to know it was my decision to leave." Riley told her parents. "I should have stayed because now we both have issues to deal with that we could have solved together. It was my fault Lucas started drinking so don't be mad at him."

"No, she's lying." Riley heard his voice from behind her. She figured he must have run into Maya or somebody on the way out.

"Lucas, what are you doing?" Riley asked as he approached her family's picnic style dinning room table where she was currently sitting with her parents.

"I'm telling them the truth." Lucas said. "Mr. and Mrs. Matthews, I understand that I'm probably not the person that you want to see right now but I don't want Riley to defend me. I made a lot of mistakes after we lost the baby. I think we both would have been better off if Riley had stayed at Cornell but I never had to do what I did and I sure as hell didn't have to bring it here. I am sorry for the way I treated your daughter in the past but I promise it will never happen again. She means too much to me."

Shortly after Lucas' impromptu speech, he felt something warm encompass his hand. He looked down to see Riley had intertwined their fingers together.

"I shouldn't have left you." Riley said, her eyes brimming with tears. "I promise I won't do it again. You mean too much to me."

Lucas smiled sadly at her before he pulled her hand up and grabbed her in a fierce hug. They were healing. It hurt tremendously at times but they were getting back to where they used to be. He felt her start to cry into his shoulder and held her tight, trying his best not to cry himself.

Although he was facing them, Lucas completely forgot Cory and Topanga were sitting right across from them until Riley backed out of the hug. It seemed the second she did, Topanga was on her feet. Although she got up quickly, she was slow to approach her daughter before she gave her a hug.

"Oh, my poor baby." Topanga muttered into Riley's shoulder. "We had no idea, I'm so sorry."

"There's no way you could have known, mom." Riley simply said as she wiped away her own tears.

"I know, sweetheart." Topanga replied. "But it's still not something you deserved to go through. Neither of you."

Before Lucas knew what was happening, Topanga was hugging him as well. Topanga Matthews was a woman he considered more of a mother to him than his own mom ever was. It was good that she knew and he was glad that she felt for him as well as her own daughter. After all, Riley and Lucas didn't just lose a son. Cory and Topanga lost a grandson.

When Topanga backed out of her hug from Lucas, she looked back at Riley lovingly.

"So what do we do now?" Riley asked, looking at no one in particular.

"We get ready to celebrate Maya and Josh and their happy wedding." Cory said. "Clearly you've both suffered enough. There's no need to extend it."

When Riley was a teenager, she hated how often her father was right. She rarely even admitted it when he was. She was stubborn just like her mother. Now, as an adult, she was thankful for his wisdom. She was glad he could always be the voice of reason, even if that voice was a little goofy at times. He was right. She wasn't upset she told them and judging by Cory's slight grin and red rimmed eyes, neither was he. However, the event that brought them all together was Maya and Josh's wedding. Riley and Lucas weren't healed yet and that wasn't going to happen in a few days so why not enjoy the next few days? Why be sad thinking about the past when you can be happy thinking about the future?

* * *

 **AN: My God I am the worst! I'm so, so, so, so sorry I didn't update! I'll just give you the same excuse as always; school. You know how it is, right? Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I don't think it's my best but it literally took me two months to write and I typically write these things in like a couple of hours so it just felt very disconnected when I would come back to it. I knew where I wanted to end up but it would take me forever to get there.**

 **Anyway, I am officially on summer vacation now so I should be updating more often. I also don't have writers block anymore so hopefully everything will just fall out of my fingers for the next couple of days. We are so close to being finished with this story, there's no way I would abandon it now.**

 **I also want to give a quick shout out to Kaity0428 for helping me through this writer's block and for being an all around sweetheart and supporting be through this story. I know this isn't really what we said was going to happen so I'm sorry but I hope you still enjoy this!**

 **Follow, favorite and review!**


	12. The Dance

The day following Maya's bridal shower was Josh's bachelor party. Josh returned to the cabin completely drunk at 2:00 in the morning with a completely sober Lucas in tow. It was still hard for Lucas to limit himself when it came to drinking. Usually if he was at a formal event and offered a glass of champagne, he would be fine with the one glass but tonight was far from formal and far from a one glass kind of night. He had been sober for the past four years and he didn't plan on ruining that over some dumb bachelor party.

Maya was pissed the next morning but they thankfully still had a week until their wedding. They had planned on having it at Topanga's but Farkle ended up getting the couple a huge discount on one of New York's most glamorous hotels. It was simply an offer they couldn't pass up. The week seemed to fly by for everybody but Maya still had enough time to divulge her master plan of getting Riley and Lucas back together to her future husband.

"So, do you remember how we got back together?" Maya casually mentioned to Josh while they were laying in their bed just a few nights before their wedding.

"Most of it." Josh replied.

"Yeah, me too." Maya said. "We were pretty drunk weren't we?"

"Yeah." Josh chuckled. "I was surprised I didn't vomit the next morning."

"Well, considering I woke up next to you, I'm glad that didn't happen." Maya teased.

"No, we probably wouldn't have gotten back together if that had happened." Josh replied, followed by a mutual chuckle.

"But it worked didn't it?" Maya asked.

"What are you talking about?" Josh asked.

"I mean, do you really think we would have gotten back together if we hadn't gotten completely wasted that night?" Maya asked.

"Well, yeah." Josh replied. "But I still had feelings for you and I knew you still had feelings for me so it was probably going to happen at some point."

"Yeah, but the alcohol… It sped things up, didn't it?" Maya asked. She was shocked she wasn't getting where she was getting at.

"Yes, it did." Josh replied.

"Good." Maya said. "Then, it should work for Lucas and Riley at our wedding."

Josh shot up out of the bed and turned the bedside lamp on. Why did Maya always have to drop these bombs on him when they were in bed? She told him she was pregnant while they were laying in bed and he actually fell off of the bed in surprise. This wasn't quite as shocking but it still made him question her sanity.

"Maya," Josh started in his stern voice she was expecting to hear. "Why on earth do you think you can meddle with their lives?"

"Josh, they still love each other!" Maya exclaimed. "I'm tired of them suppressing their feelings. I want to vomit every time I see them look at each other."

"You're right, but Maya, they are probably going to get together at some point." Josh said.

"But that 'some point' could be days, weeks, months, years from now!" Maya exclaimed. "Our child will probably be going off to college by the time they admit their feelings to each other. But, if we get them both drunk at our wedding and they admit they have feelings for each other, they'll have to talk about it once they sober up."

"Do you really want our friend Lucas, a recovering alcoholic, drunk?" Josh asked.

"He only drank because Riley left him." Maya said. "She's not going to do that this time."

"How can you be so sure?" Josh asked.

"I just know." Maya replied.

"You just know?" Josh asked. "Right, sorry. I forgot you were right about everything."

"Josh, don't make this personal." Maya scolded. "I don't want this to turn into an argument."

"I don't want to either." Josh replied. "But not every couple is like us. For all we know, trying to get them back together that way will just make things worse."

"It worked for us." Maya replied.

"Yeah, but that's us." Josh said. "Riley and Lucas are weird. Everything they do defies logic."

"Yeah, you're right." Maya said as she yawned and flopped back down on her bed.

"So, are you not going to do it?" Josh asked.

"Oh, no. I'm still going to do it." Maya replied.

Josh groaned as he turned out the light and flopped back down on the bed. Their wedding was going to be a disaster.

* * *

"So the flowers are all arranged, the tables for the reception is set and Maya's dress is in her changing room, along with all her hair and makeup." Riley said as she walked around the empty hotel lounge the night before her best friend's wedding. "I think that's everything."

"This place looks great." Riley heard a voice behind her say. She was a bit startled considering she thought she was alone. However, she recognized the voice right away.

"Thanks, Lucas." Riley said. "Have you completed your best man duties?"

"Well, all Josh really wanted me to do was plan the bachelor party, which is done, make sure all the tuxes are in their hotel room upstairs, which they are, and prepare a best man speech, which I have." Lucas said, holding up a small index card at the end.

"Oh, damn it." Riley muttered. "I knew I was forgetting something!"

"Riley, relax," Lucas said as he approached her, setting his hands on her shoulders. "You and Maya have been friends for years. I'm sure you can come up with something off of the top of your head."

"Yeah, but we've been apart for years now." Riley said. "I'm not very good at speaking in front of crowds. The best man and maid of honor speech are important. I can't screw that up for Maya."

"Riley, you're going to do great." Lucas said. "I know you are. But if you're that nervous, I can help you with your speech if you want."

"Really?" Riley asked. Lucas nodded. "Oh, Lucas that would be great. Thank you!"

"No problem." Lucas replied.

The pair sat down at a table, being careful not to mess up the elaborate set up Riley and Maya's other bridesmaids had set up. It didn't take them nearly as long Riley thought it was going to take. She had to give speeches and presentations all throughout middle school, high school and college and even today in court and it always took a long time. She supposed it was because when she gave those presentations, she would have to do hours upon hours of research before she had any idea of what she was talking about. However, between her and Lucas, Riley wasn't sure there were two people who knew Maya better. The research was all in her mind.

Although Riley was not with her boyfriend at the moment, the setting was pretty romantic. The place was set up for a wedding, tables surrounding a dance floor in the middle and a stage off to the side. Music was currently being played. The DJ Maya and Josh had hired for the ceremony and come in earlier to set up his equipment for the next day and left before Lucas showed up. Riley had been around Josh quite a bit when he would DJ at clubs and what not so she knew the basics of a sound board. Plus, she had her phone so she plugged it in to one of the amps so she wouldn't get bored finalizing everything. It was mostly playing new music or old rock classics but then, a slow, soft ballad came on. Riley wasn't the only one who noticed a dramatic change.

"Oh, are you actually a softy, Matthews?" Lucas teased.

"No, I'm not, Friar." Riley responded. "Come on, everybody has a slower song in their library."

"All right." Lucas said, putting both of his hands up in defeat. "I'll admit I have some slower, sappy stuff too."

"Thank you." Riley responded with a smile.

"So, do you want to dance?" Lucas asked.

"Dance?" Riley asked.

"Yeah," Lucas responded. "You know, I'll put my hands on your waist and you'll put yours-"

"I know how dancing works, Lucas." Riley said.

"I figured." Lucas responded. "But I was going to ask you at the wedding tomorrow anyway. What if, after all these years, we suck at it. We can't embarrass ourselves at our best friends' wedding."

"I guess we can." Riley said with a smile and an eye roll as she took Lucas' out stretched hand.

Lucas lead Riley to the middle of the empty dance floor. She smiled at him and then wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder. She didn't mean for this to be a romantic embrace, she was just exhausted from all of her maid of honor duties. She couldn't help but think off how intimate and awkward this would have been the first time they danced together in seventh grade. Back then, their arms were so far apart you could drive a truck in between them. Now, they were so close they could probably hold a thin magazine in between their bodies.

Lucas wrapped his arms around her waist and she could tell her was resting his head on top of hers. They moved to the music in this slow embrace. Yes, this would have been intimate as hell in middle school but that doesn't mean it wasn't intimate now. Every time Riley got this close to Lucas, she would get tingles all up and down her skin. She remembered he used to be able to do this when they were still an item too. Back then, she figured it was just because she loved him so much. Back then, she loved this feeling. Now, this feeling frightened her. Yes, Riley loved Lucas but she was convinced it was the same kind of love she felt for Auggie. A brotherly love. She couldn't be in love with him because she was trying to start something with Jake. Jake was sweet and he really liked her. She liked him too but she didn't love him. She could learn to love him though so Lucas was serving as quite the distraction and their current intimate connection was not helping matters. She could feel his slightly callused hands gently start to rub circles on her back. She could feel his still chiseled stomach against hers as he breathed in and out. She could feel him breathing out of his nose and onto her left ear. She could hear him gently sigh every now and again. She loved it but it scared her.

The slow song stopped and a classic rock song that would not fit their style of dance came on. They each backed out of their embrace. That was when Riley realized she had begun playing with the ends of his hair while her hands were still around his neck. She used to do that when they would dance before. When they danced before, they were boyfriend and girlfriend. When they danced before, she allowed herself to love him like she loved nobody else.

"I can't do this anymore, Riley." Riley vaguely heard Lucas say.

"What?" Riley asked once she found the wherewithal.

"I can't…" Lucas started before taking a deep sigh. "I can't just be your friend anymore. I still love you, and not like a friend. It pains me that you can't love me back for some reason. I wish you would. I promise, I would do everything in my power to keep you happy. I don't care about our failed relationship. I don't care that we lost a baby. Frankly, I don't care about your new boyfriend because I know he can't love you like I can."

The room was silent for a while. Riley wanted to speak but she couldn't find her voice. Even if she managed to find it, she wasn't quite sure what she was supposed to say. Was he giving her an ultimatum?

"I…" Lucas started once he figured she wasn't going to say anything. "I can't just sit back and pretend I don't have feelings for you anymore. I want to start us back up again. I can't watch you run off with somebody else."

"I, um…" Riley started, not sure where to take this conversation. Did she want to throw away her relationship with Jake and start a new one with Lucas or did she want to throw away everything with Lucas and see where her relationship with Jake went? Riley understood his pain. The only person she ever desperately liked was Lucas. She was going to get mad at him and say that she watched him drool over ever girl but her for four years and still remained one of his best friends. But then she remembered just about every aspect of their friendship was different and much less complicated back then. Those girls didn't mean all that much to Lucas and Riley knew that deep down even back then. Although they were the best of friends in high school, Riley and Lucas were much closer now. Just a few years ago, they were going to have a baby together. They had lots of history. This wasn't a decision she could make right now.

"I'm going to go back to my hotel room." Riley finally answered. "It's getting late and we have a big day tomorrow."

"Right." Lucas responded as he hung his head low. "Good night, Riley."

"Good night," Riley responded. "Thank you for the dance."

* * *

Maya and Josh's wedding went swimmingly. It really was a beautiful ceremony and Riley and Lucas were able to delay the tension of their conversation the night before until the wedding reception. Once they had walked back down the aisle, Lucas went to a corner nearest the stage and Riley remained on the other side of the room where all the appetizers were.

"There you are." Riley heard the voice of her all time best friend from behind her. "I just wanted to say thank you for everything. This place looks amazing and it wouldn't have been possible without you."

"Oh, no problem, Maya." Riley mumbled.

"Is something wrong?" Maya asked.

"What?" Riley responded. "Oh, no. I'm just tired is all. I was up kind of late checking last minute details."

"Oh, well none the less I appreciate it." Maya said. "Here, let me buy you a drink."

"The bar is free, Maya." Riley responded.

"Riles, it's the sentiment that counts." Maya said. "Just one chardonnay."

"Okay, fine." Riley said as she walked over to the bar with her best friend and new aunt.

Once Riley was about five or six drinks in, Maya went over to the best man at her wedding who was currently sulking in the corner.

"Hey, Lucas." Maya said as she approached him.

"Oh, hey, Maya." Lucas responded in that same sad tone Riley had earlier. "It was a lovely ceremony. I'm very happy for you and Josh."

"Thanks, Lucas." Maya replied. "Hey, why don't you let me get you a drink?"

"Oh, no thanks." Lucas replied. "I don't really drink in social settings."

"Oh, come on, Lucas." Maya pestered. "It's one drink and it's my wedding. I insist."

"Well, I suppose if you insist, I can have one drink." Lucas said. "Just one."

"Just one." Maya replied.

* * *

It was amazing how quickly and how easily one turn into five and five or six turned into ten or eleven. It may have been more. Maya quit counting how many drinks Riley had gulped down. She was stumbling around now and Lucas wasn't far off. Surprisingly enough, Riley usually held liquor better than Lucas did. The maid of honor and best man speeches were atrocious. Maybe it wasn't what Maya had dreamed of but she already had everything she wanted. She had a man she loved sitting beside her and in just a few months she was going to have a baby. Riley and Lucas could easily have everything she had but they were too stubborn to see it. Maybe their drunk and loopy selfs would figure it out.

Shortly after their speeches, Riley and Lucas both got up and chatted with the wedding guests. Eventually, they bummed into each other. Maya saw Riley sloppily put her arm on Lucas' shoulder and saw Lucas reach out and pull her waist close until it was eventually touching his. Their position looked uncomfortable but definitely inanimate. Maya saw Riley lean up to whisper something in Lucas' ear. He nodded and they were gone in a flash.

"I hope you're happy with yourself." Josh said to his new wife.

"Oh, I most certainly am."

* * *

 **AN: And there you have it. I really wanted to post this Friday because I knew season 3 premiered then but I'll just have to settle with the same night as the second episode.**

 **Just a little reassurance, Lucas is not going to go back to his drinking lifestyle. I may take that as a concern of his in the following chapters but it's not going to happen. This will just be one drunken night for him.**

 **Also, THE BIGGEST WARNING I HAVE TO GIVE! Next chapter will be the sex scene that I was talking about in previous author's notes. If you haven't figured out which two characters it's going to be between yet, I will say that it won't be too much of a surprise. The reason I'm telling you all this is since this story will now include a sex scene, the rating will be going from T to M. It probably won't be very intense but it's still a sex scene and I'm probably going to fill the entire chapter with it. If you followed or favorited this story then you will get an email notification when the next chapter is up. If you don't follow or favorite this story or you don't have an account then this story will disappear from the general list. All you have to do to make it reappear is go to the filters at the top of the screen if you are using the desktop version of the bottom of the screen if you are using the mobile version, go to ratings and change it from K-T to either All or Rated M. I don't want to lose any of you because of this ratings change but because of the content in the next chapter, it must be done.**

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	13. That One Drunken Night

Lucas knew his best man's speech was terrible. He did have something planned but he only had his notecards from reference and he couldn't remember much of anything else. On top of that, he couldn't keep himself from slurring his words. Yep, he was drunk.

He noticed when he sat down, everybody in the crowd looked at him with disapproval in their eyes. It was a bit awkward even in his drunken state until he heard someone cheering very loudly somewhere near him. He looked over to see Josh staring daggers at his new wife, Maya smirking up at Lucas and Riley reverting to her short time on the John Quincy Adams Middle School cheer squad. Although she got a bit better with time, she was never very good at cheerleading. Her drunken self was even worse.

Lucas avoided conversation after his speech. He knew that would just lead to somebody coming over to him and asking if he was all right or if they could escort him out. It wouldn't be the first time that ever happened but he would be embarrassed by it. It was pretty easy to avoid conversation though because the dinner came out shortly afterwards. It was also a bit convenient because he was looking to sober up a bit and food could do that. He scarfed down the five course meal even though he was full after course three. He had to sober up.

Soon, Lucas felt like he was still pretty tipsy but no longer drunk. He didn't feel too bad. He remembered during his days as an alcoholic how horrible the process of sobering yourself could be. In all honesty, this one wasn't quite as bad. Maybe it was because he was in a better place now or maybe it was because he wasn't nearly as drunk as he used to be. Either way he was thankful. He also figured the least he could do was go to Josh and apologize for his horrible best man speech. This was Josh's only wedding day and he got a horrible speech from the guy who he considered his best friend. Maybe one day they'd look back on it and laugh but that day was not today. He spotted Josh near the hotel entrance talking to some family Lucas did not know before they left the ceremony.

"Hey, man." Lucas said in a sturdy voice.

"Oh, hi." Josh replied, obviously not in the mood to talk. At least not to Lucas anyway.

"Look, I know you're mad at me and you have every right to be." Lucas stated. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry for messing up the speech. It was stupid and it won't happen again."

"Well, obviously it won't happen again." Josh chuckled. "I'm only planning on getting married once."

"Oh, right." Lucas replied with a laugh. "I guess I'm just a little tipsy."

"Maybe you should just go home and call it a night." Josh suggested.

"Are you sure you won't mind?" Lucas asked.

"No, no, not at all." Josh said. "I know you and Riley both worked really hard to make this wedding come together. If anybody deserves to go home early it's you two."

"Thanks, man." Lucas replied. "Oh, hold on, I forgot my jacket. I'll be right back."

It didn't take long for Lucas to spot his jacket on his chair. It would have been easy to get to it if he didn't have to walk through a crowd of people to retrieve it.

"Lucas!" He heard his name being said at an extremely high pitch. He had no idea who it was so he turned around to see Riley. She had yet another drink in her hand and her hair seemed to be falling out of the bun she had it in.

"Oh, hey Riley." Lucas replied.

"Listen," Riley started as she stumbled over to him and grabbed his neck tie to keep herself upright. "I thought your best man speech was amazing. Inspiring."

"It was a lot of drunken gibberish." Lucas said once he found the wherewithal. Riley was only a few inches away from his face.

"I understood every word." Riley slurred. "It made perfect sense. Who cares what other people think? You know what? Fuck people. Fuck everybody."

When she finished her statement, Riley backed away from Lucas for just a little bit to slurp down the rest of her drink. There wasn't much left in the glass but that was the least of Lucas' worries. He was more concerned with how many she had. Maybe she should take the rest of the night off too.

"So, I was actually about to head out." Lucas told her. "Maybe you want to come with me?"

"No, no," Riley repeated over and over. "No, I want to have some fun! There's no fun in the hotel rooms!"

"There can be." Lucas said.

"Oh, really?" Riley responded, getting even closer to Lucas.

"No, that's not what I meant." Lucas said. "I mean getting sleep is fun too."

"I'll sleep when I'm dead." Riley said. "That's what I said in parties at college, that's what I say when I'm working on case files."

Riley tried to make her case by getting another drink and dancing how she thought was cool but really just looked tired and disoriented.

"Riley, come on-" But she cut him off with words he had been hoping to hear.

"I chose you." Riley said.

"What?" Lucas asked. Instead of answering immediately, Riley put her drink back up to her lips and took a big slurp of it. Lucas had to fight her arm down like a child. He needed to know if he meant what he thought she meant.

"What did you say?" Lucas repeated.

"I chose you." Riley said, bopping him on the side of his nose. "I couldn't love anybody more than you, Lucas."

"I love you, too, Riles." Lucas said.

Once Lucas let go of her arms, she threw herself on him and started to kiss him like crazy. It hadn't been this intense in years but Lucas wasn't complaining in the least bit. It was like their tongues were going to war.

"Do ya wanna get a drink and maybe dance a bit?" Riley asked.

Lucas knew he should call it a night. That's what his brain told him, but his heart told him to stay out on the dance floor with Riley. If he walked away, would she still want him? He couldn't risk it.

"Yeah, sure." Lucas replied. "That sounds fun too."

Lucas lost count on how many drinks he had once he had reached six. He wasn't completely sober when he started drinking anyway. Riley just had this ability to get him to do anything. She seemed to be having a fun time drinking and dancing and taking the occasional break to kiss him very sloppily on the mouth. Usually, it would only last a few seconds since Riley would get a bit distracted by a new song or a drink platter coming by. However, once almost everybody had left the party, Riley planted one on him that was unlike anything she had done in ages. She loved him and she wanted to be with him, he could tell. Lucky for her, he had just enough alcohol in his system to want to be with her too.

"Do ya wanna get outta here?" Riley slurred as Lucas did his best to hold them both up. He was sure even if he warned Riley he was going to let her go, she would drop like a ton of bricks.

"Yeah, okay." Lucas responded like a jittery teenage boy who was about to experience his first time.

Riley kissed him again before they flew past Maya and Josh, thanked them for the hospitality and made their way up to the top floor of the hotel.

Once they had chosen to have sex in Riley's hotel room and Riley had found the wherewithal to remind Lucas to go to the gift shop to pick up a condom, they were ready to become one for the first time in years.

Riley tried to think back to the last time she had had sex with Lucas. Or really had sex period. Lucas was the only man thus far that she had been that inanimate with. It was at least six years ago. Once they found out she was pregnant, they were distant from each other so they didn't have sex then but she doubted the last time they had sex was the time their son was conceived. Riley quickly pushed that thought out of her mind. She loved Lucas and she wanted to do this. She didn't know the next time she was going to be drunk enough to do this and she didn't want to waste their time together.

They were making out at the foot of the bed when Riley pushed Lucas' jacket off and managed to pull his tie off. Lucas was fumbling with the zipper on the back of Riley's dress while Riley began to unbutton his collared dress shirt. It didn't take long for the two of them to just be standing in their underwear. Riley gave an uncharacteristic girly giggle before she and Lucas fell on the bed together. He was straddling her as they continued their make out session. She felt Lucas' hand snake behind her back and she arched it to give him access to where her bra hooked. She felt it unsnap only moments later. Even drunk, he was great at that. She didn't stop what she was doing and neither did Lucas. She heard her bra clatter against the wall and that was the only evidence that it was off until she felt Lucas lower the top half of his body gently against hers.

Riley loved the feeling of skin on skin. It didn't matter if they were both freezing cool or they were both already in a sweat. It was just this feeling she couldn't quite explain. She then felt Lucas lift her body up and she wrapped her arms and legs around him so she could move with him. Riley had grown to be quite tall but still kept her skinny frame. On the rare occasion people tried to lift her, they just saw the small frame and forgot about the height and the extra weight that came with that. She wasn't ever all that insecure about her body but it didn't really make her feel all that great with somebody would try to lift her and they would have to stop and start over. Lucas was never wrong though. He always lifted her without hesitating and giving her a sense of security even though she was being completely vulnerable with him. It was like she was a feather.

Together they fell back on the bed, Lucas taking his usual position on top and Riley underneath him. They did change things up every now and again when they were together but this position was always the most comfortable for the both of them. Riley clawed at the hem of his boxers, only having difficulty getting them over his erection. Lucas got them off pretty quickly and then tossed her underwear in their pile of clothes as well. They continued to make out for a while before Lucas got up to retrieve the condom he had bought earlier and Riley threw herself underneath the blankets. It just felt more intimate when they would have sex with the covers draped over their bodies.

"Are you sure?" Lucas managed to say. It wasn't a complete sentence and he was drunk but he would feel awful if for some reason Riley didn't understand what was going on until now.

"Y-yes." Riley muttered. Lucas noticed she was having a hard time keeping still underneath the covers. He knew she was in complete ecstasy. She had been like this before and he had always loved it. He would reach that point soon.

After Lucas slipped on the condom and jumped under the covers with her, they became one for the first time in six years. There were moans and groans of pleasure. They called each other's names over and over again. Riley was nearly screaming on the bed before her first orgasm. Lucas followed shortly after her. He collapsed next to her since he wasn't able to hold himself up anymore but he wasn't done. Obviously if Riley fell asleep or didn't want to continue, he would stop but he had six years to make up for in one night.

After laying on the other side of the bed, panting, Lucas pushed himself off again and straddled Riley again.

"Again?" He asked.

Riley just nodded.

Lucas pushed himself inside of her once more. She moaned once he had entered her. He began thrusting and her hips buckled against his. He was groaning in pleasure with every hard thrust he made into her. It had been six years since Lucas had been with Riley but he still remembered what she liked and how she liked it. She was loudly moaning beneath him and calling his name over and over.

"Lucas, Lucas, Luke…" then she came. He felt her walls start to close around him and he came too, succumbing for the second time that night.

He knew they fucked again but he didn't know how many more times. Just enough for the condom to bust.

Riley took her time waking up the next morning. She wasn't in any rush, her flight back to Washington, D.C. wasn't until tomorrow. She didn't remember a lot of Maya and Josh's wedding the previous day but she remembered drinking. She remembered drinking a lot. The pounding migraine that came about when she barely opened her eyes to the dark room was evidence enough. She probably hadn't ever drank that much since she was in college. She wasn't the average college girl anymore so she knew the effects were going to be much worse this time around.

She did have this crazy dream though. It all involved Lucas. She dreamed they were both drunk and they were dancing like idiots at Maya's wedding. She dreamed that she invited him up to her room. She dreamed they had sex multiple times in one night. It was a crazy dream. Maybe Lucas was the one who brought her up here when she was drunk and got her changed before she went to bed. She loved the bridesmaids' dresses Maya picked out but they were a tad uncomfortable so she would be able to tell if she was asleep. She wiggled around a little bit to see if she could tell what she was wearing. She chose not to do that again since it caused a bit of nausea when she moved and she wanted to put off the vomiting for as long as she could. The second thing Riley noticed was she wasn't wearing any clothes. Not even underwear. How did that happen? She knew she was wearing both a bra and a pair of panties the night before. She wasn't a manic. What happened to them?

Riley was about to open her eyes when she heard a low grunt from beside her. She wasn't sleeping in this bed alone. She also knew that was the sound of a man. And she was naked. Did she hook up with somebody last night? Was it Lucas? Was that a dream or reality? There was only one way to find out.

Riley could already feel her stomach churning and it didn't get any better when she opened her eyes. She was going to have to turn over to see who was sleeping beside her though. She also knew she was going to throw up eventually. This wasn't her first time being hungover.

Begrudgingly, Riley turned on her back and found a sleeping Lucas Friar beside her. She could tell her wasn't wearing a shirt but she didn't know if he was completely naked like she was. She doubted he was clothed at all. It would be weird for her to be completely naked in bed next to Lucas and for him to have a pair of pants on.

Riley could feel the mucus rising in her throat and she knew she had only a few seconds until she was going to vomit. She flew out of the bed and pushed the door to the bathroom open before vomiting in the toilet. She could only remember vomiting this badly when she had the flu in high school. This was by far the worst hangover she had ever had.

"Riley?" She heard Lucas softly call her name from behind the bathroom door. "Can I come in?"

She was completely naked leaning over the toilet with a bit of vomit drooling out of her mouth. She didn't really care if he saw her this way. He had seen her naked in broad daylight before, this wasn't going to be much better. She grabbed a small towel off the ground and wiped the bit of vomit off of her mouth before responding with a "yeah".

Lucas opened the door, already clad in a pair of boxers. He looked hungover but he didn't seem as nauseated as she was. She had to remind herself he could probably handle this better. She also had to remind herself to keep a close eye on him the next couple of months since he could easily fall back into the lifestyle of an alcoholic. He didn't look happy or satisfied but she couldn't tell if it was because he was currently hungover or he didn't like seeing her this way or a combination of both.

"Are you okay?" Lucas asked, softly.

"Yeah, I'm-" Riley started but was cut off again when she started vomiting. She heard Lucas walk over to her and pull her long hair out of the way as she continued to vomit. Once she was done, she flushed the toilet and she felt Lucas gently place her hair on her left shoulder he was gone for a moment before he grabbed the robe the hotel provided and draped it around her shoulders. Riley caught on and put her arms through the sleeves, tied it around her body and made sure that everything that needed to be covered was.

"I'm fine." Riley finally answered. "I just think I'm gonna stay here for the next couple of hours."

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea." Lucas responded.

"Are you all right?" Riley asked.

"Yeah, I just have a bit of a headache right now." Lucas responded.

"Oh, well there's some aspirin in my bag right there if you want it." Riley said.

"Great, thanks." Lucas said as he moved from against the counter to take some of the medicine. "Do you want one too?"

"Yeah, that would be great." Riley responded.

After they both took their aspirin, Riley and Lucas sat in silence for a while.

"Did…" Riley started before she trailed off. God, this headache was worse than she thought. "Did you wake up like that?"

"What with my boxers on?" Lucas asked and Riley nodded. "No, I was naked."

"Did we…?" Riley trailed off again. If she needed to clarify what she meant to Lucas, she was probably going to have to find a way to take his doctorate back to California.

"Yeah." Lucas responded. "Do you not remember?"

"Not really." Riley said. "I'm still trying to piece things together."

"I'm sorry, Riley." Lucas said. "I never would have-"

"No, I know." Riley responded. Lucas would never in a million years have sex with any girl without her consent, let alone Riley. "I must have given you some signals or something."

"So you're not mad?" Lucas asked.

"I mean, I am a little." Riley said. "Not at you though."

"What do you mean?" Lucas asked.

"Well, I'm mad that I got drunk in the first place. I'm mad that we kind of rushed into that. I'm mad that I've been cheating on my boyfriend the entire time I've been here." Riley said.

"Wait, what?" Lucas asked. He knew that Riley and Jake were technically still dating but he thought after what she had told him last night that she wouldn't feel bad about sleeping with him. At least not for that reason. He could understand the other two.

"What?" Riley asked.

"Last night," Lucas started. "You said you chose me."

"I did?" Riley asked.

"Yeah," Lucas said. "Did you really mean that or was that just drunk Riley talking?"

"I-" Riley started but couldn't finish. She remembered Lucas' ultimatum. She knew she was either going to have to be in a relationship with him or she was going to lose contact with one of her closest friends. It was a shitty ultimatum but she understood what it was like to like somebody while you watch them fool around with just about anybody.

Still, it was a tough decision. It wasn't one that she could make in just a few seconds or even a few days. But she also knew how Lucas felt. It's terrifying to put yourself out there and then not have the people respond as soon as you would have liked.

"Just forget it." Lucas said as he stood up from the counter and walked into the main part of the hotel room.

"Lucas, wait." Riley said as she stood up and followed him out, making sure the robe covered everything that needed to be covered. Lucas looked at her with so much hope, like she made her decision last minute. And she had made her decision.

"I'm so sorry." Riley said.

Lucas shuffled around the room to find his pants from the night before and started to put them on.

"Can I at least ask what I did wrong?" Lucas asked.

"What?" Riley replied.

"What did I do wrong?" Lucas said. "You're picking this guy that you have only been with for a couple of months over me. What did I do wrong?"

"You didn't do anything wrong." Riley said.

"No, Riley. I must have done something wrong because you're just willing to throw away our friendship for some guy you hardly know!" Lucas hollered. "What did I do?"

"It wasn't you, it was me!" Riley shouted back. An almost spooky silence fell over the room at those words. Lucas didn't expect to hear that and neither did Riley. He had gotten her so pissed off she realized the reason she couldn't take Lucas back. It wasn't because she didn't love him. She loved him in an intense, passionate, crazy, stupid way and seeing him walk out of her life was going to be painful. But the possibility of reliving her worst nightmare with him was going to be much, much worse.

"I wanted a family six years ago." Riley admitted. She felt tears start to prick at her eyes and she couldn't tell if it was from this emotion or if it was from the pain her migraine was causing her or both. "I imagined all three of us living together and having a wonderful time. I imagined what he would look like. I imagined you two being so close. I imagined him looking just like you. Almost every night I dream about being with the two of you. Sometimes it's incredible and I don't want to wake up because I know it's not real. Sometimes it's like someone or something is out to get us and I can't wait to wake up because I don't want to see him taken away from us again. Every time I think about you or look at you I see him and I reminded of what might have been."

The spooky silence came back as Riley wiped the tears from her eyes and looked at the ground. She tried to pretend she wasn't crying because it was stupid to be hung up on something that happened six years ago. It was stupid to be hung up on something that happened to lots of women. Much worse things happened to people everyday but it was her reason.

Eventually, Riley heard Lucas shuffle around again and then her hotel room door opened and closed. He was gone and she may never see him again.

* * *

 **AN: Hey guys! So the obviously wasn't the end but we will get a happy ending soon!**

 **I just want to say thank you to everybody who has followed, favorited or reviewed this story! I means the world to me and I'm happy I can write something you guys enjoy so much!**

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	14. I Don't Think I'll Ever Stop

_Six Months Later_

Riley Matthews would say she was definitely satisfied with her life. She worked at one of the most successful law firms in Washington, D.C. and she had a great boyfriend. She doesn't have the friends people rave about anymore. She was only a maid of honor one time to her middle school best friend Maya Hart. The only people she would be seen around today would be her work friends and any of their clients but their exchanges were usually very professional. She would been seen with her boyfriend form time to time but they both had busy careers. She had almost entirely cut ties with her family. It was hard to stay close with her family and work hard. Her parents had always been proud of her, even though she lived in Washington. She promised to visit during Thanksgiving and Christmas but she hadn't been back to her hometown of New York since Maya's wedding. She was lucky to slip out the last time she had been there because… well, that might be a story for another time. Anyway, she had not been back since then. She had lied and said she had to work. It wasn't always a lie. Crime didn't stop for Thanksgiving or Christmas. But more often than not, Riley had those holidays off. So she didn't really have family or friends but she did have a successful career and a good boyfriend and that was more than most had so she was satisfied with her life.

"Hey, babe." She heard from behind her computer as she watched him walk in right then.

"Oh, hey." Riley replied.

"Are you all right?" Jake asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Riley replied. "Just tired is all."

"Oh, okay." Jake said. "Are you still up for tonight?"

"Oh, of course!" Riley exclaimed, throwing her girlfriend mask on and standing up from her desk to wrap her arms around his neck. "You made reservations at that five-star restaurant I love so much. I could be vomiting my lungs out and I would still go."

"Great." Jake replied before he leaned in to give her a small peck on the lips. "I just came to drop these files off. I better get back to work."

"Great, thanks." Riley said.

"I'm looking forward to tonight." Jake added as he left the building.

"Me too," Riley said quietly to herself.

Riley never felt like her old self again. She thought she would. She thought if she and Jake got together he would love her so much that all the sadness that had built up inside her would go away but it never did. To this day, she still had dreams about her son and ex-boyfriend Lucas Friar. She loved being in a relationship with Lucas. It was a simpler time. She never blamed him for anything that happened between them and she understood why he had to do what he did. Still, she considered him her best friend six months ago and now they don't talk. They haven't talked in six whole months.

She hated thinking about Lucas because Jake really was the perfect gentleman. He always held doors open for her, he would text or call her when he woke up or went to sleep. Every now and again he would leave small notes on her desk telling her how amazing and incredible she was and how she has made his life better. He told her he loved her a couple of months before. She said it back that one time with as much enthusiasm she could muster because she didn't love him but she knew how it felt to not hear it back. She hadn't said it back since but he didn't seem to care.

Only a week before he told her he loved her, she told him about the baby. She had learned so much about that situation through therapy. Things she didn't even know she knew. She told him everything. She told him about her past with Lucas and how they split once she miscarried. She told him how she struggled with her depression for six years and how Lucas became an alcoholic and how he overcame it. She told him how she felt. She cried in his arms and he just held her, stroking her hair and kissing her crown every now and again. They had sex for the first time that night.

Things were going really well for Riley and she couldn't be more satisfied.

* * *

Lucas spent all his time focusing on work. He wasn't ready to date yet and if he was left alone he would just go back to being the horrible alcoholic he was the last time he lost Riley. He had gotten drunk twice since he had returned from New York but it was never anything as bad as it was last time. He chose to work double the hours he was working before to keep his mind off of Riley. Work was a healthier way to do that compared to alcohol.

The first night he got drunk was the night he got home. He had to share the aisle with Riley that whole flight home. He had never been in a more awkward situation nor did he ever hate her as much as he had in that moment. He felt like she had used him. Maybe she had but that was very uncharacteristic of Riley. Even if it was just some random guy, she wouldn't use him for sex. Still, he wondered how their lives would have been if she had picked him on that trip. They would probably be inseparable on that flight. It could have been incredible but it wasn't. He tried to get to sleep early that night but he couldn't stop thinking about her. He left his home and bought the biggest bottle of whiskey he could find. He woke up the next morning on the floor with a throbbing headache the the bottle completely empty.

The second night he was out in the city picking up some groceries. He usually did this on the weekends or late afternoons but since he started working more, he had to shop at night. He was walking to a main street to catch a cab when he saw them. Riley was standing by tourist booth looking at the cards for Washington, D.C., laughing with the guy who he could only assume was Jake. There was a possibility it wasn't him but he laughed with her, put his arm around her waist and kissed her. He remembered doing that with her in New York. There was nothing like a kiss from Riley Matthews. He returned to the nearby grocery store and bought a bottle of scotch. He remembered going to bed that night but he knew he was drunk the night before. His migraine the next morning proved it.

He could tell Dr. Downs was worried about him but he pushed it off and assured him he was. Yes, he was sad most of the time but he would get over Riley one day. Didn't everybody have that one who got away? Riley was his but he would find somebody else.

Hopefully soon…

Things weren't going all that great for Lucas but he had work. That's more than most people could say.

* * *

Riley met Jake at her favorite restaurant that night. They talked about how there days at work went and it couldn't have been much more boring. At least for Riley. She loved her work but it was a bit boring to talk about. Still, Jake listened to her talk with so much attention. He really did treat her so well.

The waiter brought them their food and it was delicious as always. Jake suggested they order desert before they left. Riley loved their desert just as much as she did their entrees so she wasn't one to say no. She ordered the cheesecake and he ordered a chocolate cake. Just as the waiter left, Jake winked at him. Riley didn't think anything of it but it was still a little odd. She also noticed Jake was acting a little nervous. Why would he be nervous? It's just a dinner date. They've gone on thousands of them, why would this one be any different.

The waiter brought their deserts out and they dug in right away. Riley's cheesecake was as smooth and delicious as ever. That is until she got to the middle and bit into something hard. She made sure not to swallow whatever it was and pulled it out of her mouth.

Riley found herself staring at a beautiful ring. It had a large diamond in the middle with two bands of diamonds encrusted on a silver metal. She looked up to find Jake kneeling before her and the whole restaurant staring at the couple.

"Riley, I love you so much." Jake was saying while Riley struggled to pick her chin up off the ground. "I've never met anybody like you. You're beautiful and smart and the best person I've ever met. Will you marry me?"

It was the proposal every girl dreamed of. They were at a beautiful place, she was the center of attention and he had caught her totally off guard. Yet, something didn't feel right. She had been lying to him this entire time. He loved her so much he was certain he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. She knew she didn't love him. Hell, she loved Lucas for years and they never got engaged…

For some reason Riley's mind flashed back a very memorable moment. It was so simple, why hadn't she seen it before? She had to get out of here.

"I have to go." Riley said as she placed the ring on the table and ran out of the restaurant. It didn't take long for her to hear Jake shouting her name and chasing after her. He was faster than her and she was wearing heels. He was bound to catch up to her at some point. She finally stopped outside the parking garage where snowflakes were just starting to fall down. Thank god she drove her car here.

"Riley, wait!" Jake exclaimed as he caught up to her. "Are you okay? Was something wrong?"

"No!" Riley exclaimed. "No, it was perfect. Any girl would be lucky to have you."

That was the first true statement she had told him in months.

"Then…" Jake started, trying to figure out what to say. "Why did you say no? You did say no, right?"

"I-I did." Riley said. "I'm sorry and I'm truly flattered but I just don't feel the same way about you. It wouldn't be fair to either of us. I'm sorry."

"No, it's fine. It's-" Jake started before stopping himself. He took a big sigh and smiled slightly to himself. "You still love that other guy, don't you?"

"Yeah," Riley choked out. She couldn't tell if she was getting emotional over rejecting Jake or realizing just how strongly she felt for Lucas.

"Well, I hope you everything works out for you two." Jake said. "He's a lucky guy and if he ever hurts you, I'll be there."

"Thank you, Jake." Riley said as she ran up to hug him. "You are so kind and sweet. You're going to make some girl so happy one day."

"Thank you, Riley." Jake said as they backed out of the hug and he stuck his hand out. "Friends?"

"Friends." Riley said as she took it.

"Well, have a good night and I'll see you at work on Monday." Jake said before he returned to the restaurant to pay the bill.

"Thank you." Riley said as she started scurrying toward the parking garage. "You too!"

Riley hopped in her car, made a quick stop at her apartment to pick something up and then headed straight for Lucas Friar's apartment.

* * *

Because of his new, extreme hours, Lucas didn't get home until around ten o'clock that night. An owner with a golden retriever came in and said her dog was going into labor. Her dog had five puppies, all of whom where happy and healthy so it's not like his day ended on a bad note. He was just planning on ordering a pizza and then calling it a night but something, or rather, someone was sitting outside of his door running some piece of paper through her fingers.

"Riley?" Lucas asked as he approached her.

"Lucas." Riley said as she stood up and repositioned her blouse and jacket.

"What are you doing here?" Lucas asked.

"I was just wondering if it was too late to change my mind." Riley said.

Lucas wanted to pinch himself. He was wondering if this was all a dream. Was she saying what he thought she was saying? Was she here for the reasons he thought she was here?

"What's that?" Lucas asked, not wanting to jump to conclusions.

"I broke things off with Jake." Riley stated.

"Really?" Lucas asked. "Why did you do that?"

"I just realized I loved somebody else." Riley said as she revealed what she was holding in her hand. It was the photograph her mom took on their first official date. Riley was wearing a grey sweater, a black leather jacket he was pretty sure was Maya's, red skinny jeans, tan suede ankle boots and a chunky pearl necklace. It was the picture Riley left him on the coffee maker when she left him at Cornell. It was the picture that gave Lucas hope that they would work out one day.

"And I don't plan on ever stopping." Riley finished.

Lucas took a few steps forward and took the picture out of Riley's hand.

"Where did you get this?" Lucas asked. Last he had known, he had it.

"I took it when I was helping you move in." Riley said. "I really liked the picture."

"Well, I'm glad you did." Lucas replied.

"Anyway, I was wondering if there was anyway you would take me-"

Riley was cut off when she felt Lucas' lips on hers. She immediately responded and wrapped her arms around his neck while he pulled her as close as he possibly could. They made it. It seemed life had thrown them every obstacle it could and yet, here they were, making out in front of his apartment. Riley started tasting salt and she knew somebody was crying, she just couldn't tell if it was her or Lucas. When they finally backed away she saw a subtle track down his cheeks but her face felt wet too.

"I love you, Lucas." Riley said.

"I love you too, Riley." Lucas replied. "Do you want to come in?"

"Yeah, absolutely." Riley replied.

* * *

Riley woke up first and felt the warmth of his body beneath her. She smiled because it confirmed he was there. A part of her thought this was all just a dream. No, they didn't have sex but they did spend the night together and it was more inanimate on an emotional scale than sex ever could be.

Riley slithered out of Lucas' embrace to grab her phone. She was positive Maya would want to know about them getting back together. She opened her phone to see Maya had sent her a snapchat. Riley opened it up to see her best friend holding a small little baby in her arms, the photo undoubtedly taken by the new father himself, Josh Matthews. It was captioned "Meet Mia Riley Matthews".

"Hey," She heard Lucas say from behind her as he turned over and laid his arm on her waist and kissed her shoulder. "What are you doing?"

"Maya had her baby." Riley said.

"Oh, wow. That's great. Boy or girl?" Lucas asked.

"Girl." Riley replied. "Mia Riley Matthews."

"Aw. I like it." Lucas said. "Your first cousin!"

"Oh, my goodness, you're right." Riley said as she chuckled. "Do you think we should tell Maya today?"

"Give me your phone." Lucas said.

"Why?" Riley giggled.

"Just trust me." Lucas replied.

Riley saw Lucas return to the camera page of the snapchat app and turn the front facing camera on.

"What are you doing?" Riley asked again.

"Do you trust me or not?" Lucas asked.

"Okay, fine." Riley sighed.

Lucas took a picture of the two of them laying in bed together, wrote something on the screen and then gave it back to Riley.

"I sent it to Maya." Lucas said. "I captioned it 'We're happy for you'. I saved the picture on your phone too if you could send it to me."

"Lucas, I don't want to steal her thunder." Riley said.

"You're not stealing her thunder." Lucas reassured her.

"But-" Riley started but her phone went off again. Another snapchat from Maya. This was a selfie of her middle school best friend with the caption "I'm happy for you guys too".

Riley smiled at the picture and kissed Lucas yet again. They kissed so much last night that she was surprised their lips weren't bruised.

"Do you just want to stay in bed today?" Riley asked.

"I was planning on it." Lucas said. "As long as you're here."

"There's no place I'd rather be."

* * *

 **AN: Yay! A happy ending.**

 **BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE!**

 **I'm planning on writing an epilogue for this story which should just be this short, cute little piece and then a oneshot and one more** **story! I'm not sure what any of them will be titled but I will give you a more information as I come up with it.**

 **Thank you guys for reading this story and I hope you'll stick around for the epilogue and the rest of the series!**

 **Follow, favorite and review!**


	15. Epilogue

_Epilogue_

Only a couple of months after Lucas and Riley had gotten back together, they made the decision to move in together. It wasn't because they were insanely in love, although they were, it just made more sense. It was closer to the vet so Lucas didn't have to commute as far and Riley's place was bigger than Lucas' so they had more space for their things. Because of this, Lucas and Riley took a trip to Texas one weekend to get some things he had left there when he made the move to Washington. Riley was well received by all of his family and the weekend was just fantastic. Lucas brushing through the attic and Riley was down in his room when he found it.

It was his grandmother's engagement ring. His father gave it to him shortly before he died, wanting to make sure it stayed in the family. It was a beautiful ring and very, very Riley. It was small because his family didn't have a lot of money back then but that was perfect for her. Riley rarely wore jewelry and when she did, they were stud earrings and a simple necklace. She grew out of wearing bold jewelry in high school. Lucas couldn't remember her wearing any rings in recent years so he didn't know what her taste was in that but he was sure she would love this one. It was a silver band with a diamond in the center and two amethysts on both sides. It was simple yet unique, just like Riley.

Lucas heard Riley call his name from below to tell him his mom had finished preparing their dinner for the night. He answered with a quick "be right there" and continued to stare at the ring. Should he take it? He had known Riley was the one for him for a long, long time but he thought it might be too soon for them to get married. Things were going wonderfully for them but they had only been together for a couple of months. Yes, they had a history but they had changed quite a bit since the last time they had been together. Plus, Riley knew the apartment inside and out. He couldn't hide the ring anywhere she wouldn't look. If she found it, she might automatically think they were getting married or she might panic and say it's too soon. He eventually decided to put the ring in his pocket and think about it. He had time.

Soon, the whole family was feed and everybody started heading off to bed. After a long day of going through Lucas' things and shoving them into box after box, Riley was out like a light. Lucas, however, was still awake thinking about the ring he had put in his pockets before. Should he take it now? Should he come back and get it when the time is right? He had no clue.

Lucas wandered out to the kitchen to sit up and think. He was a bit surprised to find his mom sitting on the far side of the island they had in the center of their kitchen.

"Mom?" Lucas asked sleepily. "What are you doing up so late?"

"Oh, just thinking." Mrs. Friar responded. "I have dreams about your father sometimes. Sometimes he's still alive and well. He's like he was when we first met. Like we never separated. Sometimes it's like he died the most painful death and I just have to sit there and watch. Luckily tonight was a good one. What about you, baby? What are you doing up so late?"

"Just thinking." Lucas repeated but didn't elaborate like his mom did.

"What were you thinking about?" She asked.

"Just…" Lucas started but then stopped to collect his thoughts. "I found Grandma's ring in the attic today."

"Oh, really?" His mom responded. "I thought you took that with you when you and Riley moved to Cornell."

"I did." Lucas said. "I hid it in my nightstand for two years. I didn't really think about giving it to her until the end of that second year. When I came back here for a bit before moving to California, I left it here because it reminded me too much of her. I just threw it up in the attic and hoped nobody would find it."

"I see." His mom replied. "Well, what are you thinking about now?"

"I think…" Lucas said. "I think it's too soon. But I know she's the one."

"Well, take it then." His mother said.

"Mom, I don't know if it's that simple." Lucas replied. "What if she finds it and freaks out? What if she finds it and thinks I'm going to propose?"

"Well, you want to propose to her at some point, right?" His mom asked.

"Yeah," Lucas admitted. "I really do."

"Well, then what's so bad if she finds it?" His mom said. "And you won't have to worry about her freaking out. I could tell she feels the same way about you."

"Yeah, I guess she does." Lucas said with a smile.

"Besides, you're the only one who can continue the legacy of that ring." His mom said. "I'm sure you'd find a nice one in Washington but your father and grandmother would both turn over in their graves if they found out you got her a brand new ring when the one up there is as beautiful as any other. Take it, Lucas."

And suddenly, Lucas knew exactly what he was going to do.

"Thanks, mom."

Lucas left Texas with his grandmother's ring tucked between a pair of his boxers. It was gross he knew but Riley wouldn't look there if you paid her. He then hid the ring in a loose plank in their floorboard. It stayed there for months, through Mia's first birthday, Farkle's engament to his college sweetheart and Auggie and Ava's wedding. Finally, after over a year, Lucas felt the time was right.

He woke up the next morning with his naked body pressed against Riley's. Last night they had mind blowing sex for no reason at all. Lucas was already at home when Riley got back from work after a long day. He gave her a massage and one thing lead to another and now here they were. It was Saturday morning and they didn't have anywhere else to be.

Lucas didn't know if he was still stuck in a euphoric mode from sex or if he just honestly felt this way but Riley had never looked more beautiful than she did now. Her eyes were closed, shoulders bare with the sheets pulled up around her chest. Underneath the blankets, she was holding his hand against her breast and he would never, ever complain about that. Her chocolate brown hair was sprayed all over her shoulder and the bed and it seemed to cascade in a way that was so gorgeous it was almost unnatural, as if somebody had placed it that way. She was breathing out of her mouth and still had a bit of makeup on from the day before that was now caked up underneath her eyes but they had forgotten a lot of things the night before. Dinner, for example. They just when straight from massage to sex to sleep.

Riley was his entire life and he knew it. He was pretty sure she did too and he hoped she felt the same way about him. She was beautiful and smart and was willing to love and accept him for who he was. She was everything he wanted in a woman and then some.

Before he knew what he was doing, Lucas gently pulled his hand out of Riley's, threw on a pair of boxers from the other day and went to the kitchen. He made a big breakfast since they didn't have dinner the night before and then pulled the loose plank in the floorboard up and took the ring out of it's hiding spot. He hoped that the only time he saw the ring for the rest of his life was sitting on Riley's finger.

Lucas returned to their bedroom to find Riley was still asleep. Last night must have been even crazier than he thought because Riley hardly ever slept in past 9:30. Still, she was asleep and he hated to wake her up but he wanted her to eat breakfast before it got cold and they propose to her. He wasn't sure what he was going to say but he heard that you figure it out in the moment. Hell, Josh's proposal to Maya was mostly on the spot and he knew Auggie couldn't have planned out a proposal to Ava. She had gotten better from the bratty toddler she once was but she still had very high standards. If Josh and Auggie could get Maya and Ava to say yes to them, Lucas could get Riley to say yes to him.

"Riles," Lucas said quietly as he laid down beside her and gently started to shake her. "Riley, baby get up."

"What?' Riley mumbled sleepily. God she was so cute. "Lucas, it's Saturday."

"But I made breakfast." Lucas said an proceed to kiss her on the shoulder. "It's going to get cold."

"I'll be there in a couple of minutes, babe." Riley muttered. Lucas knew what that meant. Every now and again, Riley would become so exhausted that she would stay in bed all day. Although he wasn't opposed to that today, they had to eat breakfast soon so he could ask her to marry him. Last time she told him she'd be ready in a couple of minutes, she fell back asleep and was late for work. He had to wake her up.

"Riley, do you want to get married?" Lucas asked.

"What?!" Riley exclaimed as she flew out of bed like a shot, suddenly wide awake. She was now standing above him on her side of the bed.

"You heard me." Lucas said as he stood up and walked over to her. Sure, it wasn't what he planned but he had a feeling this was going to go pretty well. Riley was breathing heavily as he walked over to her and he thought he could see tears in her eyes. He pulled the ring box from behind him and got down on one knee before her. He heard Riley gasp as he kneeled on the floor.

"I don't have a speech or anything prepared but you have become my entire life this past year." Lucas said. "We've been through everything together and I love you. I love you so much."

Lucas took a moment to open the ring box and present the ring to Riley. She gasped again when she saw the beautiful ring and Lucas couldn't wait to put it on her finger. It was only then that a problem came to mind.

"This was my grandmother's ring and I haven't gotten a chance to get it resized but-"

"Oh, that's okay, Lucas." Riley chimed in. "We'll-we'll take care of it later. Now, what were you going to ask me?"

Lucas took a big sigh and moment to remember every single feature of Riley's face right now. This was a moment he wasn't ever going to forget.

"Will you marry me?" Lucas asked.

"Yes." Riley said, softly at first. "Yes, of course I'll marry you."

Lucas smiled before standing up and picking Riley up, spinning in circles. They were getting married! They had been through not liking each other in that way, abusive boyfriends followed by jealously, living over a thousand miles apart, finally getting together, almost not going to grad school together, living together, losing a baby together and the most difficult breakup either of them endured. Yet, somehow they were here. Together. Forever.

Lucas kissed Riley long and hard before he put the ring on her finger. It was a bit loose on Riley's skinny finger but nevertheless, it belonged there. It always had and now it always will.

"Do you know what I'm going to remember most about this moment?" Lucas asked.

"What's that?" Riley said.

"The fact that I was somehow able to propose to you while you were naked."

* * *

 **AN: Ending with a bit of humor, of course**

 **Well, that's all for this story folks. Thank you guys so much for sticking around.** **Wether you've been apart of this series since the first chapter of Attractive or just joined a couple of days ago, I really appreciate you all reading this story and leaving your thoughts and reviews. Because of you guys this is one of the most highly reviewed, favorited and followed Rucas stories and it wouldn't be possible without you guys! Thank you all so, so much.**

 **If you liked this story then you may want to stick around because I'm not done yet. I think the next thing I will upload will be a oneshot about Riley and Lucas' wedding. Then, I'm planning on writing the final story in this series about Riley and Lucas' life as husband and wife and them achieving a goal they've dreamed of for years! Six years to be exact ;)**

 **Thank you so much again, you guys!**

 **Follow, favorite and review!**


	16. Author's Note

**AN: Hey guys! Long time no see, eh?**

 **So I know I said I wanted to do a oneshot in this series and that oneshot was going to be Riley and Lucas' wedding. However, that just became way more elaborate than I wanted it to be and I didn't want to make a series because I really wanted to get to this next one. So Riley and Lucas got married. Yay! I just uploaded Book 4 in the Attractive Series, Miracle. It's basically going to be Riley and Lucas' journey to becoming parents. That's pretty much all I'm going to stay. That one should stay T rated but hey, who knows? Anyway, thank you guys so much for reading my stories and I hope you stick around to read this new one and I hope you enjoy it!**


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